7 News Belize

The Port In The Court, Again
posted (July 20, 2012)
Earlier this month, 7News told you about the Port of Belize case against the Government of Belize which was started by its previous owner, Luke Espat.

As we reported, this case is before the courts because the management of the Port claim that GOB violated the Belize City Port licensing agreement of January 2002, the Commerce Beight Port Lease of 2002, the January 2002 Prospectus, the Share Purchase Agreement of March 2002, the Cruise Terminal Agreement of April 2004, the Privatization Cooperation Agreement of December 2005.

All of these agreements were made with the Musa Administration, but they were never effected.

As a result, the Luke Espat led management filed the case claiming financial damages, and even got Justice Hafiz-Bertram to grant an injunction against GOB and the Belize Port Authority to terminate a lease contract which they claimed the Port Management did not honor.

But the lease termination and the damage claims before the courts presently are two completely different things. And that's the main point which the Government attorney, Denys Barrow, used to convince Justice Hafiz-Bertram to discharge the injunction, which had been in place for several years.

Here's how he described how and why the injunction was granted:

Denys Barrow, Attorney
"The judge acceded to our application and discharge the injunction. That injunction, you will recall was granted back in 2008 I think and it was granted at a stage when the claim had been filed and an affidavit in support of the application for the injunction had been filed but the government had not filed any defense or any responding affidavit. So the injunction was granted almost by default although it was argued against but there was not any material for the government to then rely upon."

"It has now become clear that that injunction was sought in a case concerning these contracts in which the matter that lies behind the injunction has absolutely no play whatsoever. That injunction was granted to restrained the termination of the lease on the basis that the claimants; lessee had breach the conditions of the lease and that the Port was therefore legally authorized to terminate the lease. That issue in not present in this case which concerns only the question whether there was a breach of contract and a claim for damages arising out of the allege breach by the government."

"The point which was made was that given what has emerge on the hearing of the case concerning the allege breach by the government of the prospectus and various agreements. It is plain that the violation of the lease conditions was never an issue; therefore the question was a landlord and tenant issue. The one that is before is a question of breach of contract, so completely different things, that is why the judge basically automatically after hearing the case discharge the injunction."

And we asked him about the contents of that lease that the Belize Port Authority wanted to terminate. Here's how he described it, and what effect that the discharge of the injunction now has on it.

Denys Barrow, Attorney
"I don't remember the terns off hand but I think it is a lease for 30 years. It's an extensive document; it contains provisions which require the claimants' Port of Belize to do certain works; to dredge the harbor, to do maintenance and development works etc., to pay annual fees etc. So my recollection is that these are the braches of which the Port Authority complained and it was on the basis of these breaches that they gave notice pursuant to the lease of the intention to terminate the lease."

Daniel Ortix
"What is the effect of the discharging?"

Denys Barrow, Attorney
"It means that there is not any injunction in place against the Port Authority as the landlord or against the government to the extent that they are the landlord. I don't remember who it is, therefore they are free to proceed according to what their legal rights and remedies are in relation to the lease."

The damage case has now been argued to completion, and it is now up to Justice Bertram to come to her decision. No time has been announced as yet when she will hand that decision down.

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