A B.C. judge has awarded a Mexican company $70,000 for a long overdue avocado bill.
The case dates back to September 2017, when the Vancouver-headquartered GC Importers Ltd. and several individuals contracted Exporavo Sociedad De Responsabilidad Limitada to import two shipments of avocados.
Based in the Mexican state of Michoacan, Exporavo says it exports everything from dates, figs and pineapples, to avocados, mangoes and guavas.
When GC Importers Ltd. failed to pay its invoices, the company launched a suit. The legal action dragged on for years.
On March 27, 2024, the defendants’ former lawyer sent an email to the Mexican company’s lawyer, according to a recent B.C. Supreme Court decision.
“We have a deal,” the email read.
Exporavo sent a final settlement agreement to GC Importers Ltd. in October 2024 but received no response. Lawyers for the Mexican fruit exporter kept trying to contact the Vancouver-based company, but repeatedly received auto-reply messages.
In court, defendant Armando Alan Garcia Castillon said the two parties still had details to iron out, as Justice Karrie Anne Wolfe put it in her Feb. 19 ruling, published Thursday.
Garcia Castillon denied the previous settlement agreement included a $70,000 payment, despite email evidence to the contrary.
In her ruling, Wolfe said the defendant was resting his case on the idea that a written settlement agreement was a pre-condition to a binding deal.
The judge rejected that argument, noting it is not supported by court precedence or the facts in the case.
She awarded Exporavo $70,000 for the unpaid avocado shipments and $3,000 for the cost of bringing the matter before the court.
Company director Armando Garcia-Castellon said in an email that GC Importers has appealed the ruling and continues to pursue parallel litigation in Mexico.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect the status GC Importers Inc.'s move to appeal the case.
