The High Court has dismissed an application by Mayers Printing Company Limited to strike out enforcement proceedings brought by Invest Saint Lucia over more than $200,000 in unpaid rent, ruling that the debt remains valid and enforceable.
In a decision delivered on April 13, 2026, Justice Alvin S. Pariagsingh rejected the company’s attempt to halt a judgment summons tied to arrears totaling $209,603.06, accrued between 2004 and 2022 for occupancy at the Bisee Industrial Estate.
Mayers Printing had argued that Invest Saint Lucia’s enforcement action was procedurally flawed, claiming that the statutory mechanism under the Invest Saint Lucia Act provided the only method for recovering unpaid rent. The company also contended that portions of the debt should be extinguished under prescription laws, which limit recovery of rent arrears older than five years.
However, the Court found that once rent arrears are converted into a statutory judgment debt under Section 45 of the Act and properly registered, they carry the full force of a High Court judgment and can be enforced using standard legal procedures.
Justice Pariagsingh ruled that the law does not restrict Invest Saint Lucia to a single enforcement method, stating that the statutory process is not exclusive, and creditors are entitled to pursue multiple lawful avenues to recover outstanding sums.
The Court also rejected arguments that prescription laws could invalidate the debt at the enforcement stage. It held that once the arrears were legally transformed into a judgment debt, they could no longer be treated simply as unpaid rent subject to time limitations.
Mayers Printing further alleged that Invest Saint Lucia’s repeated attempts to recover the debt, including garnishment proceedings and the current judgment summons, amounted to an abuse of process. But the Court disagreed, finding that pursuing different enforcement strategies for the same debt does not constitute misconduct.
“The existence of multiple enforcement attempts does not, without more, establish abuse,” the judgment stated.
The Court ultimately dismissed the application and ordered Mayers Printing to pay legal costs to Invest Saint Lucia.
