Tonight an American couple who were on vacation in Belize are happy to be on the way back to their home in Phoenix Arizona after they had been denied permission to leave Belize. The couple is Norman and Sandra Warren and it is the Supreme Court which barred them from leaving the country.
The story began on September 23rd when the couple rented a golf cart from Island Tour Rental Company in San Pedro. But while driving the cart through the island on September 26th, dog chased the couple and they lost control of the cart, hit an embankment and flipped the cart.
The roof was damaged and the couple concedes that they caused it and agreed to pay to fix it. But the golf cart rental company wanted the couple to pay $12,000 for a new cart - even though two mechanics offered to fix it for $1,000. That is because the company claimed the chassis was broken.
So the golf cart company took it to the Supreme Court and sued the couple for the $12,000. Their attorney Aldo Reyes got an injunction barring the couple from leaving the country. But today the couple's attorney - Anthony Sylvestre Jr., from Musa and Balderamos, got the green light from the Supreme Court for the couple to leave the country.
The San Pedro Business Association agreed to take on the case and the responsibility in order for the couple to leave the country.
We note that the golf cart company had already charged $6,000 on the couple's American Express credit card for damages. Also notable is that the chassis of the golf cart was damaged and the replacement part isn't available in Belize.
The tour company's manager Carol Maldonado told us this evening that if the chassis was welded, it would endanger the lives of future drivers because a welded chassis won't be reliable because of the salt water on the island. She says she would have to buy an entirely new golf cart for them to get the replacement chassis. She says all her company wants is their golf cart back in working condition.
