News from the Turks & Caicos
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Turks and Caicos government faces another million-dollar lawsuit
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| Published on Tuesday, August 4, 2009 | Email To Friend Print Version
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By Tess Hennigan
Caribbean Net News Staff Reporter
Email: tess@caribbeannetnews.com
PROVIDENCIALES, Turks and Caicos Islands -- The Turks and Caicos Islands Tourist Board (TCITB) is facing yet another lawsuit for alleged non-payment of monies owed and this time, according to one of the attorneys involved, the damages claimed could easily amount to over US$5 million.
Ronald Monterosso, attorney for Film Life Inc., told TCI Net News, “I served papers on the Tourist Board on July 16, 2009, after months of attempting to negotiate a settlement and sent copies by fax and email to the Governor, the Attorney General, the Premier and Deputy Premier and have yet heard nothing from anyone.”
According to Monterosso, “The Tourist Board and the Territory are due to appear in court on August 11.”
Legal documents seen by TCI Net News state that, in September 2007, Film Life, Inc., a New York based production company, entered into a contractual agreement with the TCITB to produce a Turks and Caicos International Film Festival (TACIFF) once a year for five years, with the first to take place in October of 2008 and the last to take place in 2012.
TCITB undertook to pay Film Life, Inc. an initial non-refundable payment of US$650,000 along with a US$2,000,000 annual budget for each TACIFF over and above the initial payment.
According to the court documents, the TCITB made the initial payment of $400,000, but to date has not paid any additional payments, and has refused to schedule a film festival despite the terms of the agreement.
In late March 2009, numerous demands were reportedly made to the TCITB via email and fax requesting arbitration pursuant to the agreement. These demands were addressed directly to the Minister of Tourism, the Governor of the TCI, as well as the Attorney General for the TCI. Demands were also made by registered mail addressed the Director of Tourism and the Minister of Tourism.
On or about April 27, 2009, Wayne Garland, Minister of Tourism, reportedly met with counsel for Film Life, Inc. in New York City and promised to work toward resolving the issues between the parties, but refused to discuss arbitration during that meeting.
Since then, despite reported frequent attempts by Film Life Inc. and their counsel to communicate with the TCI government and/or TCITB, neither has responded to the demands for arbitration, and has ceased all communication with Film Life Inc. and their counsel; leading to a determination by Film Life Inc. that they (TCITB) have refused arbitration, resulting in a breach of contract.
A petition to compel arbitration between the TCITB and Film Life Inc. will reportedly be filed by the latter in a New York District Court on August 11, 2009, in an attempt to bring resolution to the situation.
This latest lawsuit follows hard on the heels of another claim filed on July 24, also in a New York District Court, by Condé Nast Publications, seeking to recover more than one million dollars in unpaid advertising, attorney’s fees, and interest from the TCITB.
The TCITB promotes the TCI as a potential tourism destination using a number of resources, including advertising and international events, and the pending lawsuits by influential media groups may well have a negative impact on the TCI’s tourism industry.
A hint of this is already evident as the TCI is not even listed as an option in the location search of the Condé Nast Traveler 2009 Gold List of the best places to stay in the world. Twelve Caribbean locations, comprising 25 resorts, are listed this year by Condé Nast Traveler, but none from the TCI, compared to several nominations in previous years. | | | | Reads : 1539 | | | |
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