The ongoing legal battle between Versair In-flight Services Ltd and the defendants, Airports Authority of Jamaica & MBJ Airports Limited, relating to Versair's legal rights under a lease to provide catering at the Donald Sangster International Airport, is now headed for the Court of Appeal.

Shortly after Supreme Court Judge Roy Jones handed down a decision last week in favour of the defendants, Versair's lawyers took the matter to the Court of Appeal and got an injunction.

The injunction bars the defendants from concluding concession agreement with another company until Versair's appeal against the Supreme Court ruling has been heard.

Versair, for many years, had a monopoly in relation to the operation of catering and con-cession services at the Norman Manley International and Donald Sangster International airports. They operated concession stands, restaurants and provided catered kitchen services to various airlines.

Versair was taken over by GraceKennedy and a Barbadian company, Goddard Enterprises. They entered into a new lease agreement with the defendants. The lease agreement, dated August 13, 2002, gave Versair the right to provide concession services at both airports.

First-refusal rights

The central issue in dispute between the parties is the interpretation of the lease agreement and, in particular, whether the claimant,Versair, had a right of first refusal under the lease.

Versair contended that MBJ, which manages the airport, breached the lease by awarding a delicatessen concession to another company, without giving them the right of first refusal.

Versair contended in the Supreme Court that no competing operation should be established at the Donald Sangster Airport without Versair's permission.

Patrick Foster, QC, and attorney-at-law Simone Mayhew of the law firm Nunes Scholefield DeLeon and Company, argued that the defendants did not breach the lease.

The lawyers said while Versair may have had a right of first refusal in relation to a certain section of the airport building, Versair did not have a general right of first refusal in any of the new buildings of the airports.

Mr Justice Jones, in ruling in favour of the defendants, accepted the submissions of the defendants' lawyers that with the massive expansion of the airport, Versair's right to approve competition from other concessions only applied to the building as defined in the lease and not to the entire, expanded airport.

Ex parte injunction

The Supreme Court, which had granted an injunction to Versair, preventing the defendants from completing concession arrangements with another company, lifted the injunction when judgment was handed down last week.

Attorney-at-law Jermaine Spence, who represented Versair, made an application for the injunction to be preserved pending appeal, but the judge refused the application.

Immediately after the application was refused, Versair's lawyers went to the Court of Appeal and got an ex parte injunction, which bars the defendants from completing the concession agreement.

Versair also filed an appeal against the judge's ruling.