Tonight, a senior legal practitioner has been ordered by the High Court to refund his client over 600 thousand dollars.
In 2008, a US based investor named Brendan Mangan engaged attorney Mansel Turton to purchase a beachside property in Caye Caulker for 300 thousand US dollars.
According to Magan, He paid Thurton a retainer to investigate the title to the property, prepare and file all documents including a Memorandum of Sale with the Lands Department, and to finalize the purchase.
But the documents were never approved by the Lands Department and the transfer was cancelled by the Registrar of Lands. But Turton never told his client this and Mangan says he continued to request and receive payments towards the purchase of the property. In 2010, Turton told Mangan, in writing, that title for his property would be ready in six weeks.
12 years later, in June of 2022 when Mangan finally visited the property, that's when he discovered a structure on it. Checks with the Lands Department showed that the property was owned by someone else. Mangan says that since then Turton has steadily refused to provide any information to him.
So he sued Turton whose defence to the court was that he had no knowledge of the subject, that he didn't sign any of the documents presented to the court, and that he had, quote "never met, seen or spoke to (Mangan) before he suddenly showed up at my front gate around July of 2022." End quote. He added that, in any case, the statute of limitation prohibits a lawsuit for a claim of fraud 14 years prior.
Well Justice Alexander was not impressed and he found Turton liable and that he should repay 650 thousand dollars plus interest, plus his costs.
Mansel Turton - who is now in his 80's was defended by Ian Gray while Brendan Magan was represented by Rene A. Montero.
