Lindsay Grant
A day before he was scheduled to appear before the High Court in Basseterre to face a judge over his failure to adhere to the court’s order to pay BuzzMaker it’s consulting fees and cost, St. Kitts & Nevis Tourism Minister Lindsay Grant made payment of the full amount owed to the political consulting firm.
BuzzMaker has been in a protracted legal battle with Minister Grant. After years of refusing to pay monies owed, the prominent global political consulting firm filed suit against Minister Grant in 2015.
In September 2016, the High Court of St. Kitts & Nevis found the Minister liable for election related debts to the political consulting firm. In September 2018, the High Court ordered Minister Grant to pay BuzzMaker the principle plus interest and cost. In spite of receiving those orders, Minister Grant continued to delay payment.
As a result, early in 2019, BuzzMaker filed a motion with the court to hold a summons hearing to inquire why Minister Grant failed to pay the judgment. Minister Grant paid the full judgment a day before the hearing was scheduled on 26 March 2019.
BuzzMaker’s lead attorney on the matter, Nevis-based Kurlyn Merchant of Merchant Legal Chambers said, “We are blessed here in the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis to have a strong, independent and impartial judiciary. I think it’s important for all international business people and investors doing business in the Federation to maintain confidence in our judiciary.”
BuzzMaker’s President, Matthew A. McMillan said, “We are grateful that Minister Grant complied with the court order and we thank the justice system of St. Kitts & Nevis for treating this matter fairly and without bias. We thank our lead counsel, Kurlyn Merchant, for her incredible work on this matter.”
“We hope that this judgment and the ultimate compliance of the Minister sends a message to regional leaders that no matter how powerful they are, if they sign contracts and make legally binding commitments, they are required to honor those commitments,” McMillan concluded.