Ambassador Bridge owners DIBC extend complaint to NAFTA issues - claim $3.5b (UPDATED)

Detroit International Bridge Company (DIBC) which owns the Ambassador Bridge has extended their legal action into NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement, asking for $3.5 billion damages based on a claim of discriminatory treatment by the government of Canada. The request for arbitration of a NAFTA dispute comes on top of a law suit lodged earlier this week in US District Court in Washington DC suing a bunch of US and Canadian agencies and top officials for damages and asking the court for injunctive relief.

The 20-page claim is stated as a dispute requiring arbitration under NAFTA between DIBC and the Government of Canada. Filed by lawyers Debevoise & Plimpton of New York.  It claims that Canadian governments committed to constructing a new highway to connect the Ambassador Bridge to Highway 401 - the expressway to Toronto and Montreal - but reneged and plan to build only to the new government promoted Detroit River International Crossing (DRIC).

They say this is a breach of commitments, inequitable and discriminatory against the Ambassador Bridge company. They say it is a breach of obligations under NAFTA to treat the American company no less favorably than Canadian investors.

Their filing is here:

http://www.tollroadsnews.com/sites/default/files/NAFTAfiling.pdf

NOTE: Contrary to reports locally in the Detroit-Windsor area and by wire services that seem to copy one another this is not a filing by Matty Moroun, primary owner of DIBC, but by the bridge company.

TOLLROADSnews 2010-03-26 UPDATED 2010-03-28 12:30