How the High Court Plans to Resolve U.D.P.’s Leadership Beef  

The court has laid out a plan to resolve the leadership dispute between Mesop Area Rep. Moses Shyne Barrow and Albert Area Rep. Tracy Panton over the United Democratic Party (U.D.P.). Here are the key points: The claimants need to respond to the defendants’ answer and defend their counterclaim by January sixth, 2025. The defendants must reply by January fifteenth, 2025. Disclosure requests are due by January seventeenth, 2025, and the process must be completed by January thirty-first, 2025. A joint pre-trial memo is due by February fourteenth, 2025, and written submissions on key issues by February twenty-eight, 2025.The court will decide if the October twentieth, 2024, meeting was a valid national convention and if Panton is still a U.D.P. member. These decisions could resolve or narrow the disputes. The claimants’ attorney must prepare a trial bundle by March fourteenth, 2025. Oral submissions are set for March thirty-first, 2025, with each attorney getting two hours. The court encourages mediation during this time. Both parties must appoint a local firm of attorneys in Belize to avoid confusion. Attorneys must confirm their authority and identify lead counsel by January sixth, 2025. The court stressed that these deadlines are mandatory, with changes allowed only under exceptional circumstances. Earlier this year, senior U.D.P. members filed a court action against Tracy Taegar-Panton and Phillipa Griffith Bailey, alleging they unlawfully seized the U.D.P. Headquarters on October twenty-eighth, 2024. They seek an injunction to reclaim the property and prevent further unauthorized actions. They argue that Panton’s actions disrupt U.D.P. operations and harm its reputation ahead of elections. Barrow also filed contempt orders against Panton for not complying with a November eighth, 2024, judgment. They sought a three-month prison sentence or a five-hundred-dollar fine, payable within seven days, failing which the prison term would apply. They also request costs, and any additional relief deemed appropriate.