A High Court judge has cleared the way for Invest Saint Lucia to continue pursuing more than $200,000 in unpaid rent from Mayers Printing Company, rejecting an attempt by the company’s owner, Guy Mayers, to block enforcement of the debt.
In a ruling on April 13, Justice Alvin Pariagsingh dismissed Mayers Printing Company’s application to strike out a judgment summons, describing the legal challenge as without merit.
The case centres on rent owed for a property at the Bisee Industrial Estate. The court heard arrears accumulated over 18 years, from December 2004 to December 2022, amounting to $209,603.06.
Invest Saint Lucia moved to recover the funds under the Invest Saint Lucia Act, which allows unpaid rent to be converted into a judgment debt upon compliance with certain steps. After repeated notices and continued non-payment, the agency formally registered the debt in February 2023.
Mayers, through his attorneys, argued the agency had no right to continue court-based enforcement. He claimed the law provides a single method for recovering rent and that Invest Saint Lucia was overstepping by using multiple approaches, including seeking funds from his bank account.
His legal team also argued much of the debt should no longer be enforceable, citing laws that limit how long rent arrears can be claimed.
However, the judge rejected those arguments.
Justice Pariagsingh ruled that once unpaid rent was converted into a judgment debt, it could be enforced like any other court judgment. This means Invest Saint Lucia is not limited to a single recovery method and can pursue several legal avenues to collect what is owed.
The court also found the argument about time limits did not apply at this stage. According to the ruling, once the debt was legally transformed into a judgment, it could no longer be treated as old rent that had expired.
On multiple enforcement attempts, the judge said there was nothing improper about trying different legal methods to recover the same debt, especially where earlier efforts had failed.
The court noted that Invest Saint Lucia had already attempted to garnish funds from Mayers’ account at First National Bank but was unable to recover funds because the account lacked sufficient funds at the time.
With the latest ruling, the judgment summons remains valid, allowing Invest Saint Lucia to continue enforcement action, including garnishing income where possible.
The court ultimately dismissed Mayers’ application and ordered him to pay legal costs.
The decision reinforces that long-standing debts, even those stretching back many years, can still be enforced once they are converted into a judgment, and that debtors may face multiple legal measures until the amount is paid.
