THE legal dispute surrounding the termination of more than 300 Community-based Environmental Protection and Enhancement Programme (CEPEP) contractors took an unexpected turn on Friday, culminating in the CEPEP Company’s rejection of a contractor’s demands and his eventual withdrawal of an injunction application.

In a letter dated July 4, CEPEP’s legal team said contractor Stephen Samuel’s lawsuit was “mis­con­ceived, hopeless, frivolous and vex­­atious”, and driven by “ulterior political motives”.

The company’s response came after Samuel, through his attorneys, issued a pre-action protocol letter on Thursday, demanding the rescis­sion of his termination letter and threatening High Court action.