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Miami Judge Hands Belize Control of Florida Telecom Firm

Posted on: Wednesday, 17 August 2005, 21:00 CDT

Aug. 17--A Miami federal judge sided Tuesday with the government of Belize in its dispute with a South Florida telecommunications company over control of the Belize phone company, giving the government the right to name board directors and replace the company's manager.

In a dispute over control of Belize Telecom Ltd., U.S. District Judge Ursula Ungaro-Benages ruled that the Belize government did not have to return control of the phone company to Innovative Communication, which is based in the Caribbean but has offices in West Palm Beach.

Innovative Communication, which is owned and was founded by Palm Beach businessman Jeffrey J. Prosser, filed a lawsuit against Belize in March, asking for an injunction to prevent the government from retaining control of Belize Telecom.

Belize's Prime Minister Said Musa's government had taken over Belize Telecom in February after Innovative Communication defaulted on a $51.3 million loan payment in November.

The unusual case ended up in a Miami court because both parties had agreed to submit to a Florida federal court in case a problem arose related to the loan agreement with the International Bank of Miami.

Prosser remains a part owner of Belize Telecom because he separately owns a minority of shares in the company that were not part of this dispute.

In March, Ungaro-Benages issued a temporary restraining order against Belize and also slapped the Central American country with a contempt of court fine for failing to hold a board meeting as directed.

But in a 55-page decision issued Tuesday that reversed her earlier ruling, Ungaro-Benages said that the government of Belize did not breach its agreement because the value of the company and its operations had not been harmed by the new management and ownership structure.

The judge also ruled that Innovative Communication was entitled to nominal damages because the Belize government failed to credit about $4 million in loan payments from Prosser's company.

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Source: The Miami Herald

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