Tonight, the fight between the Belmopan City Council and the Public Service Union over the union's Hilltop Headquarters is over. The Union has entered an out-of-court settlement with the Council and the Government, and sometime next month, it will vacate that land, and leave it to the private company which the Council sold it to.
You probably remember that very public dispute that the PSU had with the Belmopan City Council. In 2018, the Council sold the Union's Hilltop Property to the private company, Simplex Designs Limited. The union complained bitterly about this transaction because this property had been their base of operations for almost 20 years. They were claiming that the Council ought to have given them the first opportunity to purchase the land.
The Council's counter-position was that the PSU had long defaulted on its lease payments, and that it tried to work with the union on a title purchase, but the PSU's best offer was too low.
Since the two sides could not resolve their dispute, the case landed in front of Justice Courtney Abel back in February of this year. In their claim, the union sued the Council, the Government, and Simplex, the new property owner who purchased the land from the Council
Very early into the litigation, the attorney for Simplex Designs was able to convince the Supreme Court that the PSU's fight was with the council and that it had nothing to do with them. After agreeing that the PSU had no cause of action against Simplex Designs, the court struck out the claim against them.
The remaining litigants continued on the case, but several weeks later, the PSU president publicly indicated that it was in discussions with the council for an out-of-court settlement. That amicable resolution came today before Acting Chief Justice Michell Arana, after attorneys representing the parties attended a hearing before the judge.
After that hearing, we got a chance to speak with Steve Perrera, attorney for Simplex, which will now get full access to the Hilltop property in a few weeks. He told us that he is glad that his clients get to make use of the asset that his clients paid for. Here's that conversation:
Reporter
"We understand that the matter has come to a conclusion amicably, and out-of-court. Is that indeed accurate?"
Steven Perrera - Attorney for Simplex Designs
"Yes, indeed, the parties were able to come to an arrangement, and the matter is now settled, and so there is no longer the dispute before the court."
Reporter
"Are you privy to some of the details as to what is the particular settlement?"
Steve Perrera
"What we can say so far is that our clients remain with the property and that the defendants in the counterclaim will be leaving the property in the month of August."
Reporter
"But, I guess it vindicates the position that you guys had that the PSU's fight was never with Simplex."
Steve Perrera
"Correct, we maintain that. We say that our client was always the rightful owner. We purchased the property, and we have full rights to the property, and that the fight was generally between the other two parties."
Reporter
"Are you privy to plans that your clients may have for the development of this property once PSU vacates?"
Steve Perrera
"Well, the client has been working on some plans, but they haven't finalized anything because they were waiting until this matter was brought to a complete end. But, we're happy that it turned out the way it did, and we're happy that our clients remain with the property, and that our clients have the right to continue to utilize the property as it so pleases."
This afternoon, we spoke via telephone with Gerald Henry Jr., the President of the PSU about the settlement. He told us that the union and the Council will make a joint announcement tomorrow afternoon.
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