A Turkish clothing company has been given the green light to sue a local retailer over an alleged US$140,000 unpaid debt.
In a short preliminary decision delivered late last week, High Court Judge Devindra Rampersad dismissed an application from Solomon Holdings Limited to have the lawsuit brought by Sarar Giyim Tekstil Enerji Sanayi Ve Ticaret A.S. and its United States (US) subsidiary Sarar USA struck out before it is even determined.
In the application, Solomon’s director Abraham Hadeed claimed that when his company signed a franchise agreement with the Turkish supplier in 2011, it agreed that all disputes between them would be determined by courts in Eskisehir, Turkey.
Hadeed also claimed that his company did not have any relationship with the company’s US subsidiary.
Resolving the issue, Rampersad said that the local courts had the jurisdiction to hear the case as it was not over the original agreement but rather over another signed in Trinidad, under which Solomon’s acknowledged the debt to the company and agreed to clear it in instalments.
He noted that pursuant to the agreement, Solomon Holdings paid US$5,000 of the original US$147,611.71 debt.
“Clearly, therefore, the second agreement is an agreement which arose as a result of the debt owing on the Franchise Agreement and did not preserve any perceived restriction as to jurisdiction. It left the issue of jurisdiction live to be dealt with in the local courts,” Rampersad said.
Rampersad also noted that the Turkish company did not claim that its subsidiary had an agreement with the local retailer as it admitted that it merely received payments on its behalf.
As part of his decision, Rampersad gave the parties deadlines for their filings in the case.
A case management conference is scheduled to take place on December 15.
The Turkish company is being represented by Om Lalla and Dereck Balliram, while Lee Merry represented Solomon Holdings.
