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Lazy Lizard Will Close Due To Dispute
posted (November 6, 2014)
For the past 6 days, residents and visitors of Caye Caulker may have noticed that the Lazy Lizard Bar and Grill, at the Split has been closed.

And anyone who's been to Caye Caulker will know that it's not for a want of business. With all the traffic at the Split, the Lazy Lizard enjoys a constant flow of business.

But it's now closed, and no one can say for how long. That's because the bar owner, who is a lease-holder, is in a battle with the landowner. While they try to fight it out in court as to who's rights are being breeched, thousands of dollars in revenue is being lost daily.

So today, the bar owner decided to make his case to the media as to why his business is supposedly being ruined by the landowner.

Daniel Ortiz has the story:

Daniel Ortiz reporting
The Lazy Lizard, it's a well-known bar and grill at Caye Caulker's iconic destination, the Split.

For the past few days, however, it has been closed, and the proprietor is losing thousands of dollars. His eight employees have also been out of a job:

Immer Perez - Businessman, Lazy Lizard Bar & Grill
"Since this has been closed and the money that I have been making for the day - its slow season, but I never call myself slow in Caye Caulker in the Split especially right here the Lazy Lazard. Everyone comes here, and you are talking about $3,500 - $5,000 daily and on the weekends, more. All of these days that I am losing, I mentioned it to my lawyer and it must be placed to be paid as well because I am losing. I am losing and not only me, we have other families that works for me here as well; I have about 8 persons working here with me and if I am not open, they are losing."

It is currently closed because there is a dispute between Perez and the owner of the property which the bar sits on. The business relationship between Perez and the owner is complicated. Perez has been leasing the Lazy Lizard property, which is where he has been running his bar for the past 5 years. The owner has it on sale for 4+ million dollars, and he claims that he's gotten a buyer. He's trying to evict Perez from the property.

Immer Perez - Businessman, Lazy Lizard Bar & Grill
"The Split is known to the whole world as Split or Lazy Lizard, but it's under the name of Emerald Point in the Lands Department. I recently got a contract of 5 years; last year June 1st, for 5 years. So it's going to end on May 31st, 2018. Three days before Lobster Fest this year 2014, he told me and gave me the news saying that he sold the Split 99%. So I told him that this means that you got your 2.5 million US dollars that you were asking for and he just look at me and smile and shakes my hand and he said yeah and so that means that I am going to get back my money. The money that I invested here was $162,000 since November 1st, 2008 - 5 years now that I am here. The problem started when he told me that the place is sold, but then in August I got a letter of 90 days' notice that I must leave the premises of Emerald Point - that they already sold it. I got to know that the place is not sold. Emerald Point has a caution on it, so that caution means they cannot transfer or they cannot sell the property due to someone else that he had a previous deal with for obtaining the property. My contract that I have it states carefully that the property must be sold for I to get 90 days' notice. So when spoke to my lawyer and he send a power of attorney to the JP, he know what kind of contract I had. They breach the contract, so that's the reason why everything is going to be deal with the court and lawyers now. I have a 5 year contract lease that will end on May 31st, 2018."

No surprises there, business is business, and there is the Supreme Court to settle commercial disputes, especially breach of contract claims. The unusual circumstances of the Lazy Lizard dispute is that Perez caught agents of the landowner breaking into the business place, and removing $25,000 worth of his liquor and other goods. His attorney says that this is actionable criminal behavior, and he's pressing charges against the men.

Immer Perez
"These guys came; the JP (I am ashamed to say it), he personally came with these other guys, cutting my locks both from the front and back door and they broke the locks from inside out because I have deadbolt locks. The JP gives them instructions to go ahead and break the locks. I have 7 surveillance cameras inside the establishment. It seems that they notice that the cameras were there already caught them, so they remove the cameras from the original positions and they turn it up to the ceiling of the place and I obtained the footage and I gave it to the police officers for them for evidence that they personally came and cut my locks. I have pictures of the persons who came and cut my locks. I want them to pay for what they did. It's not fair. A Belizean is trying to step up his life to be a better business person and for them to come, especially for the two guys that came from Costa Rica who say that he is a general manager who have restaurants for over 15 years - coming and taking away my stuff - just grabbing my stuff from inside my establishment, taking it and putting it in another building that they already breaking down. It's just a shame to have people come and do that and especially the JP encourage them to do it."

Whatever the outcome of this dispute, this well-known Lazy Lizard proprietor will move on. He says that the relationship with his landlord has been tainted because this man tried to kick him out.

Immer Perez
"I want to get paid for the remaining of my contract time and the money that I invested here in the Lazy Lizard. You could see I have pictures about how this place use to look in 2008. November 2008 was the first time I paid them. If the law states that yes my contract is good and they breach it, I just want them to pay me the remaining of my contract and the money that I invested and I will move on, build my own new stuff. I will not stay here because you could never know what they would do; if a JP could come with other investors from Costa Rica coming here cutting my locks. Imagine what they would do if I still stay here in this place, maybe they would burn it, I do not know what they could do."

Daniel Ortiz
"The fact remains that the Split is a very commercially viable location. It is very well know both locally and abroad and your business benefits from that. You will lose that prime location spot."

Immer Perez
"Yes it is true, it's an icon spot for Caye Caulker. People sometimes do not come for the spot, they come for the service. The way you treat your customers, it's like in every business - there are demanding customers and you have to brake them. It's the same thing with all other business - you could flourish wherever you go if you have a good business knowledge."

We've been informed that the landowner is out of the country, and so today, we spoke with his attorney Naima Barrow. She told us that Immer Perez is wholly mistaken about what he thinks are his rights.

As you heard, a big part of Perez's explanation of why there has not been a sale is because there is a caution on the property. This means that land title can't transfer from one owner to another.

First, Barrow told us that Perez is mistaken, her client has sold the land, and the deal is finalized. When we asked about the caution, she told us that the transfer of title is not the only poof of at transaction. She says that her client will be able to show that the lease agreement has come to a close because of that sale.

As to the allegation that her client's agents behaved criminally when they broke into the Lazy Lizard and removed Perez's possessions, she says that her client's position is that they simply visited his property with his permission and removed his items to put them in storage. Barrow told us that her client's intention was to deliver them to wherever Perez had requested. She tells us that contrary to what Perez says, it was he - not her client's agents who were breaking and entering when he went into the Lazy Lizard, and to the storage area. When we asked about the push that Perez is making to get those agents charged, she said Perez will be hard pressed to prove that those persons were burglarizing anywhere, since they had permission.

Perez tells us that the land owner has entered a verbal contract with him and has promised to reimburse him for all investments to upgrade Lazy Lizard. He claims that he has spent over 160 thousand dollars, and he wants that investment back, along with earnings he would have made had he been allowed to complete his lease in 2018.

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