In addition, it was alleged that Mr. Zarrouk breached his obligation to properly manage and coordinate the development levy collection files; That he did not manage the staff and did not invest the necessary resources in the cases he handled, and did not work according to the working hours to which he was committed. This behavior caused the company's customers to be dissatisfied. It was further claimed that specific projects suffered from poor and slow handling, and neglect, and that as a result, no receipts were received for the delay, after a reform had been implemented on the subject in the meantime, and for other reasons.
In this regard, the counterclaim included a reference to individual charges (in relation to the Ramla Municipality's T.M.R. Water Corporation, the charges of the Greek Patriarch were mentioned in Plots 13, 9, 148; ILA - The Muslim Cemetery, 104 Herzl Blvd.; Ellison Halls, 1 Jerusalem Blvd.; Remedia Factory - Man Waflim St., 45 Duchifat St.). It was also noted that thebill was sent to Tel Aviv University in the name of the Mei Aviv Water Corporation). For all of this, Bonus assessed its damages at ILS 2 million in a conservative valuation.
And here, the counterclaim did not include a petition for monetary relief in the amount of ILS 4 million (for the theft of trade secrets and the alleged mishandling( but rather ILS 2 million, as stated above.
In addition to the aforesaid compensation, the Bonus Company petitioned for the following remedies in the counterclaim:
- Agreed compensation in the amount of 100% of the receipts received or will be received by the counter-defendants from their customers as a result of the breach of competition and the wrongs attributed to them; For this purpose, it petitioned to receive a detailed list of all the clients, as well as a report approved by an accountant for all the income they derived from these clients in the field of collecting development levies.
- Permanent injunctions prohibiting Mr. Zarrouk and the counter-defendants from competing with a bonus company and using its confidential information.
- Alternatively, a bonus company petitioned to pay it the sum of ILS 100, 000 without proof of damage, for the theft of its trade secrets.
- Zaruk, like the other counter-defendants, denied the allegations attributed to him. As far as the issue of negligence in handling the cases is concerned, he noted that these are unfounded claims. It was claimed that the bonus company did not present any documents and details regarding the alleged delays in handling the payment demands. It was further argued that insofar as certain payment demands were not sent, this is not due to negligence of one kind or another, on his part.
- On February 3, 2021, Bonus filed a motion to amend the statement of defense and the statement of counterclaim. This request included, inter alia, for the first time extensive details regarding the alleged negligence in relation to the handling of the collection file of Tel Aviv University; and in respect of assessments relating to the T.M.R. corporation, these details were not included in the original counterclaim. It was also requested to amend the financial relief so that it would stand at ILS 7, 758, 000.
This request was denied by me.