The High Court of Belize has ruled that the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association (BSCFA) can proceed with its claim against Belize Sugar Industries Ltd. (BSI) and T&L Sugars Ltd., rejecting efforts by the latter to strike out the lawsuit on jurisdictional grounds.
Justice M. Javed Mansoor delivered the decision, following arguments centred on whether the Belize court has jurisdiction to hear the BSCFA’s claim for unpaid Fairtrade (FT) sugar premiums for the 2021/2022 and 2022/2023 crop years.
T&L Sugars Ltd., a UK-based company, had filed an application to strike out the claim, arguing that any dispute must be resolved through arbitration in London under the terms of the now-expired 2021 Letter of Enhanced Agreement (LOEA), or by the High Court of England and Wales if arbitration was declined. They contended that the court in Belize had no authority to hear the case and further argued that the BSCFA failed to disclose the existence of the arbitration clause when it sought permission to serve the claim outside Belize’s jurisdiction.
The BSCFA, however, maintained that the LOEA had expired and had not been renewed or extended for the crop years in question. Therefore, they argued, the arbitration clause did not apply to the current dispute, and the Belize court retained jurisdiction.
Justice Mansoor agreed, noting that there was no evidence the arbitration agreement survived the LOEA’s expiration or that it applied to the 2021/2022 and 2022/2023 crop years. The court found that the BSCFA’s claims, including conspiracy and breach of constructive trust, presented real and triable issues, and that striking out the claim at this stage would not be in the interest of justice.
The court also agreed with the BSCFA that the second defendant’s alleged actions are intertwined with those of the first defendant, BSI, which has already filed its defence. Excluding T&L from the proceedings, the court noted, would “hinder the court’s ability to fully adjudicate the conspiracy claim.”
As a result, the application by T&L Sugars Ltd. to strike out the claim and challenge service out of jurisdiction was dismissed. The court ordered that the matter proceed to trial, with both defendants required to answer the BSCFA’s claims. The association was awarded costs of the application.