Sharon Pitts Emerges Victorious in Land Compensation Suit

Sharon Pitts

It was all the uproar back in 2016 when it was discovered that attorney Sharon Pitts and Andre Vega, son of former Deputy Prime Minister Gaspar Vega, benefited from an outrageous land deal for private properties that were sold not far from the Haulover Bridge. The prime piece of real estate amounted to two acres. One point six acres was acquired by Pitts in December 2012, for a measly ten thousand, five hundred and sixty-nine dollars after it had been approved for sale a year earlier. When it was discovered that the parcel of land was privately held, government settled compensation with Pitts to the tune of four hundred thousand dollars. On November fourth, 2016, government sought to recover almost a million dollars from Vega and Pitts by issuing a release demanding repayment. Beyond the political scandal that the issue had become, the matter subsequently ended up in court and three years later, Andre Vega was ordered to repay four hundred thousand dollars to the Government of Belize after finding that he was unjustly enriched. But Pitts’ case had gone into mediation in early 2018 and dragged on before a decision was handed down by the Supreme Court earlier today. Attorney Hubert Elrington represented Pitts in the matter.

Hubert Elrington, Attorney-at-law

Hubert Elrington

“The Government of Belize had the opportunity to hear and read what the Court of Appeal had to say in the Andre Vega judgment.  I took an interest in the matter, I am representing Mrs. Sharon Pitts.  I said to the Attorney General’s ministry, and I addressed the letter to the attorney general, that having regard to what the Court of Appeal had found to be the law in the Andre Vega case, there could not possibly be any ground for any allegation that Ms. Sharon Pitts had behaved improperly, or had broken any law or conspired with anybody or had gotten any money by an unjust of fraudulent act.  And in view of that, would they still wish to proceed with their claim against Ms. Sharon Pitts.  I thought that we could resolve the matter by negotiation, by just settling it.  But apparently they were very, very, very firm in their belief that they could get the court, the Supreme Court, to find and make a decision that was contrary to what the Court of Appeal had said.  They wanted the Supreme Court of Belize to defy the Court of Appeal and to find that there was unjust enrichment and improper and unlawful behavior on the part of my client.”