BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Dec. 19, 2019– Island Holdings Limited, the parent company for Harvest Caye, has found itself in a legal battle with Banana Enterprises Limited (a subsidiary of Big Creek Group) over a business deal that took a left turn. Banana Enterprises was apparently sought out by Island Holdings in 2014 for the acquisition of a dredge that would be used to dig a channel at Harvest Caye to accommodate cruise ships from the Norwegian Cruise Line coming into the country.
In 2015 the parties entered into an agreement wherein Banana Enterprises would buy the equipment necessary to do the job, and Island Holdings would pay the cost to utilize said equipment to dig their channel. Subsequently, the dredge would be returned to the buyers, who would then use it for their own dredging purposes.
After Banana Enterprises had taken out a commercial loan to buy a 2.5 million dollar USD dredge and had that dredge brought in from Tampa, Florida, it was determined that the machinery was too small for the job. As a result, the project was delayed and Island Holdings finally opted to have an international company provide a larger dredge that could satisfy their intended purposes.
The principals of Banana Enterprises now have to shoulder a 2.5-million dollar debt and believe that they were unjustly handled by the members of Island Holdings Limited. The result is a Supreme Court case and Banana Enterprises is seeking damages, not only for the money they lost by purchasing the useless dredge, but for the unpaid fees that Island Holdings should have provided to the company to lease the equipment.
Apparently, both parties have made several attempts to settle the sum owed outside of court, but were unable to reach a mutual agreement.
At the end of the first day of trial, the Managing Director of Banana Enterprises Limited, Zaid Flores, had this to say to the media:
“I think we tried very hard to settle out of court. The judge had ordered, I think, three mediations and we couldn’t reach any consensus. We even traveled to Miami to try and sit down and we couldn’t reach any agreement, so we had no other choice but to try and return to the court and get it settled.”
The three-day trial began on Tuesday and will conclude on Thursday with the evidence-taking segment. Banana Enterprises Limited is being represented by Senior Counsel Said Musa and Rodwell Williams, while Island Holdings Limited is being represented by Senior Counsel Magali Marin-Young. Justice Courtney Abel has been presiding over the dispute.
Feature photo: Zaid Flores, Managing Director, Belize Enterprises Ltd.