1 month ago
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The Belize City Council is being given 24 hours to put Jun’s Shop back into its booth at West Collet Canal, or face court action. The demand comes from attorney-at-law Orson Elrington, who represents Aaron Castillo and Miguel Castillo, the operators of Jun’s Shop. The business was physically removed from Booth 54-A at West Collet Canal on August 20, after the Council issued a Stop Order on August 18. But Elrington is arguing that the removal was not lawful, because Jun’s Shop had an existing agreement with the Council and, according to the attorney, was complying with that agreement. In a Consent Judgment dated July 8, Jun’s Shop agreed to pay the Council six thousand five hundred and seventy dollars, plus five dollars in court costs, for the 2026/2027 trade year. The payment arrangement called for one thousand five hundred dollars to be paid on July 8, followed by three payments of one thousand six hundred and ninety dollars due on August 30, September 30 and October 30. Elrington says his clients were current on that payment schedule, meaning their next payment was not due until August 30, after the Stop Order was issued and after the business had already been removed. The attorney also points out that Jun’s Shop and its predecessors have occupied the booth and operated at that location for more than 20 years, during which time trade fees were paid to the Council. His main legal argument, however, is that the Council could not simply physically remove the business.
Orson Elrington, Attorney: “Well my instructions from my clients are that the Belize City Council purportedly effected an eviction from their place of business on that date. Now I say purportedly because the Belize City Council did so without presenting any court order from any court whatsoever. I think that almost every single Belizean would know that for you to evict somebody, to remove somebody from a property that you need an order from a court. It’s not a complex legal issue, right? Every Belizean knows this. And so for the Belize City Council to purport that they have some authority to unilaterally effect an eviction is absolutely false, absolutely untrue, and absolutely has no grounding in law and we say is illegal. But the boldness with which the city council has done so can only lead me believe that in fact they have done so in the past and that this is not the first time with them doing so because I have heard my good friend and representative from the Belize City Council make some bold assertions to go on national media and to make these assertions as though the City Council had any right to act in the way that they did is absolutely amazing to me. I think that it’s a travesty that we have people who have been in occupation of a property, have been law abiding citizens, who have invested tremendously in the infrastructure at the Belize market. In fact, my clients will tell you that they invested in constructing the structure at a cost of over $100,000 and to be arbitrarily just removed is not only in my opinion an illegal act but an immoral one, an unacceptable one, one which should not be confidence at all. And so I am hoping that good common sense will prevail and that these people who are hardworking, Belizeans just trying to make a living will have their property restored to them immediately.”
If the Council fails or refuses to comply, the attorney says he has instructions to proceed with court action, including seeking an urgent injunction to restore Jun’s Shop to the booth. The letter was addressed to Belize City Mayor Bernard Wagner and City Administrator Dr. Candice Pitts. The letter also warns that the Council could face a claim for damages over losses the business says it suffered because of the closure, including lost business, stock and income.
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