The Court of Appeal has issued an interim order stopping a Sri Lankan company operating under a Board of Investment licence from moving, exporting, shipping, selling, transferring or otherwise parting with two 2024 Lincoln Navigator L Black Label vehicles.
A two-judge bench of Justice R. Gurusinghe and Justice A. Premashankar made the order on Friday, August 7, the Daily Mirror reported. The respondent company converts left-hand-drive luxury vehicles to right-hand drive.
A dispute over unpaid balance
The application was brought by Atlantic Auto Performance Ltd., a Canada-based firm that exports American and other high-end vehicles worldwide. According to its petition, Atlantic Auto had routinely shipped vehicles to Sri Lanka for conversion by the Sri Lankan company before onward export to right-hand-drive markets.
The two vehicles at the centre of the case are together worth roughly USD 260,000. Atlantic Auto said they were shipped after the respondent paid an advance, with the balance due before the vehicles were released from the Colombo Port.
The petitioner alleged the vehicles were instead cleared from the port and converted without its consent and without the outstanding balance being paid, conduct it described to court as fraudulent. It said its chief executive and a director had travelled to Sri Lanka over the matter and that there was an imminent risk the vehicles would be taken out of the country.
Why the case went to the Court of Appeal
Atlantic Auto told the court it had to invoke the Court of Appeal’s jurisdiction because the vehicles were held by a company operating under a BOI licence. Under the BOI legal framework, it submitted, courts of first instance are restricted from granting injunctive relief against a BOI company without first hearing the other side.
The court allowed the application to be heard urgently, issued notice on the respondents and made the interim order effective until August 19.
Counsel Nishan Sydney Premathiratne appeared for the petitioner with Sasheen Aresecularatne, Shenali Dias and Sidath Gajanayaka, on the instructions of Chanuka Ekanayake.
Sources: Daily Mirror.
