Glenn D. Godfrey Persists in U.S. Court Case, But Will He Succeed in Belize?

On Wednesday of this week, a court in the U.S. made a ruling that appears to uphold a lower court’s jurisdiction in the GDG Acquisitions LLC versus Government of Belize case. GDG, subsidiary of Glenn D. Godfrey’s group of companies, is suing the government for twenty-two million U.S. dollars in respect to enforcement of a contract with Intelco Limited. Prime Minister Dean Barrow expects that even if Godfrey wins a trial on the merits in the U.S., he would have to come to enforce the judgment in Belize – and implied that he had lesser protection than in the ongoing battle over the various arbitral awards also being fought in U.S. courts.

Reporter

“We maintain that we are not looking into the matter whether Ralph Fonseca was authorized or not authorized to sign such a document. It was signed…”

Dean Barrow

Prime Minister Dean Barrow

“And they consider that conclusive in terms of seizing them with jurisdiction to hear the merits of the matter? That, then, is confirmation of what perhaps at a lower level had been done some months ago; then, we clearly have to go on to fighting the thing on the merits. Ultimately, even if we don’t win – and I don’t say that we won’t win – that’s a foreign judgment that will have to be in fact re-litigated in Belize; it’s not even an arbitration proceeding, where there is provision for some sort of automatic collection. Again, I’m not sure, if Mr. Godfrey were to win, how he would propose to collect on that judgment, except he brings it to Belize, and that would start the process all over again. And I would not be convinced that he would get that favourable result, even in terms of that preliminary issue, I’m not convinced that he would get that sort of result in Belize that he got in the U.S.”

Reporter

“Unenforceable, then?”

Prime Minister Dean Barrow

“In my view.  In my view.”