Caribbean Welding Supplies Ltd v Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago (Trinidad and Tobago)
[2024] UKPC 7
Traille Caribbean Ltd v Cable & Wireless Jamaica Ltd (Trading as Lime) (Jamaica)
1 June 2023
[2023] UKPC 19
Privy Council
Two telecom companies argued about a tax on international calls. The court decided who should pay the tax and that one company was right to withhold service until the other paid its bill correctly. The court also said the company that got a temporary court order in its favor had to pay damages for wrongly stopping the other company from getting its service.
Key Facts
- •Traille Caribbean Ltd and Cable & Wireless Jamaica Ltd (CWJ) had a contract for international call termination services.
- •The Telephone Calls Tax (TCT) was introduced, creating a dispute over its inclusion in a security deposit.
- •Traille obtained an interim injunction preventing CWJ from blocking call termination.
- •Subsequent judgments favored CWJ, leading to Traille's appeal to the Privy Council.
Legal Principles
Interpretation of contracts, focusing on the overall purpose and commercial context.
Contract Law
Interpretation of statutory provisions, considering the plain meaning and legislative intent.
Statutory Interpretation
Principles governing undertakings in damages for interim injunctions, including causation, mitigation, and assessment of loss.
Civil Procedure; Damages
Standard of appellate review of concurrent findings of fact.
Appellate Procedure
Outcomes
CWJ, not Traille, was liable for TCT under the 2012 Order.
CWJ provided the telephone service in Jamaica, as defined by the 2012 Order and supported by the Technical Note.
CWJ was contractually entitled to include TCT in the security deposit.
Clause 9.7 of the contract required the addition of applicable taxes to charges, and the security deposit should reflect this for consistent protection against default.
CWJ was contractually entitled to refuse to turn on the switch due to non-payment of the full deposit.
The obligation to connect was subject to the deposit being paid, and Traille did not tender the correct amount.
CWJ's loss from the wrongful interim injunction was correctly assessed by Laing J and the Court of Appeal.
The injunction caused CWJ's payment of TCT, and Traille's arguments regarding mitigation and causation were rejected.
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