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### Viewing cable 08SANJOSE516, COSTA RICA -- 2008 REPORT ON INVESTMENT DISPUTES AND

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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
08SANJOSE516 | 2008-06-16 19:07 | 2011-03-21 16:04 | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | Embassy San Jose

`

    VZCZCXYZ0000
    OO RUEHWEB

    DE RUEHSJ #0516/01 1681955
    ZNR UUUUU ZZH
    O 161955Z JUN 08 ZDK
    FM AMEMBASSY SAN JOSE
    TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9848
    INFO RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE

` `

    UNCLAS SAN JOSE 000516

    SENSITIVE

    SIPDIS

    DEPT FOR WHA/CEN RBEAL, EEB/IFD/OIA FOR HGOETHERT, L/CID FOR
    GSWINEY/CHOLLAND
    E.O. 12958: N/A
    TAGS: CASC EINV SENV KIDE EFIN OPIC PGOV PREL ECON CS
    SUBJECT: COSTA RICA -- 2008 REPORT ON INVESTMENT DISPUTES AND
    EXPROPRIATION CASES

    REF:  (A) SECSTATE 43784, (B) 06 SAN JOSE 1254

    ¶1. (U) SUMMARY.  The Embassy is aware of three outstanding cases
    brought by American business entities and citizens against the
    Government of Costa Rica (GOCR).  Two of these cases (claimants C
    and E below) are longstanding. Although claimant C is not satisfied
    with the outcome thus far, due process does not seem to have been
    denied in that case. For claimant E, the case is still working its
    way through the legal system. Claimant D is a new case involving at
    least six AmCit landowners.  (Our claimant designation is the same
    as used in the 2006 report, Ref B).  END SUMMARY.

    --------------
    EXPROPRIATIONS
    --------------

    CLAIMANT C

    ¶2. (U) In 1983 the GOCR expropriated extensive ranchland owned by
    Claimant C, an Amcit.  The GOCR held the land for nine years, after
    which it lifted the expropriation order and returned the property.
    Claimant sued the GOCR to obtain compensation for income lost during
    the nine- years the GOCR held claim.  The court ordered an
    appraisal, which determined that the claimant suffered a loss of USD
    11 million due to the expropriation.  The GOCR balked at the amount
    and refused to proceed with the claim.  Over the course of 10 years,
    the claimant, with support from the Embassy, attempted to reach a
    negotiated settlement with the GOCR, while also pursuing the matter
    in Costa Rican courts.

    ¶3. (U) Legal recourse in the Costa Rican justice system has now been
    exhausted with a recent decision from the highest civil court in
    Costa Rica (Sala I or "Sala Primera") which awarded nothing to the
    claimant.  The claimant informed us in May 2008 that the case has
    been submitted before the InterAmerican Human Rights Commission.
    COMMENT:  To date, although the Claimant continues to be unsatisfied
    with the results delivered by the Costa Rican judicial system, it
    appears that the Costa Rican court system has not denied Claimant C
    due process. END COMMENT.

    CLAIMANT D

    ¶4. (U) A number of US citizens are currently facing expropriation of
    lots in "Las Baulas" National Park.  The land under expropriation is
    a 75-meter strip from a point 50 meters above the high-tide mark to
    a point 125 meters above the high-tide mark and extending along
    approximately six kilometers of Playa Grande and the smaller beaches
    of Playa Ventanas and Playa de Jesus in Guanacaste Province.
    Valuation of the land has become contentious, since "Las Baulas"
    National Park is contiguous to the booming beach town of Tamarindo
    and the lots subject to expropriation are among the very few in
    Costa Rica with beachfront title.

    ¶5. (U) A straight reading of the law that created "Las Baulas"
    National Park in 1995 is that it is a purely marine park extending
    125 meters seaward of the high-tide mark.  Nevertheless, the
    Procurator General (Prosecutor General) in 2004 interpreted the 1995
    law to mean that it applies to the area 125 meters above the
    high-tide mark.  The first 50 meters of all Costa Rican beaches are
    public dominion, so this interpretation applied to the next 75
    meters of privately owned land.  The Constitutional Chamber of the
    Supreme Court agreed to hear the case in 2005, and in May 2008
    decided that the Procurator General's ruling was valid.  This means
    that the local municipality of Santa Cruz's previous approvals of
    development in the zone are invalid.

    ¶6. (U) The beaches within "Las Baulas" National Park are among the
    most important nesting beaches in the Pacific basin for the
    endangered Leatherback Turtle (or "Baula" in Spanish).   The strip
    of land subject to expropriation is behind the area of the beach
    where the turtles nest and is meant to provide a small buffer
    between any development and the nest sites.  The landowners contend
    that a strict zoning ordinance would protect the area just as well
    without depriving landowners of their properties.  In an April
    meeting with Embassy staff, Minister of Environment and Energy
    Roberto Dobles clarified that landowners under the expropriation
    order include both foreigners and Costa Ricans and stated that 18
    expropriations had already been declared, rejected by the
    plaintiffs, and put before the courts.  An additional 32
    expropriations had been declared as "public interest" but hadn't
    proceeded to the courts.  More cases were under preparation.

    ¶7. (U) The Embassy has received a signed petition from five US
    citizens who are currently appealing their expropriation orders.  A
    sixth US citizen, the longtime owner of a hotel on the beach and
    also subject to expropriation, has separately contacted the Embassy.
     We are told that additional US citizens have been, or will be,
    affected by the expropriations.  One of the petitioners states that
    neighbors "within 300 meters of each other" have received wildly
    disparate court appraisals of $13 per square meter (/m2), $200/m2,
    $500/m2, $800/m2 and $850/m2.  We have also been told that such
    titled beachfront Costa Rican land is "priceless" or in any case
    worth more than $1,200/m2.  As a reference, six kilometers of beach
    with 75 meters of expropriated land at $800/m2 would carry a value
    of $360 million dollars.  It is not clear if the GOCR has the
    reserves or budget for such a purchase, which is a major reason that
    a strict zoning ordinance applied to development behind the beach
    has been mentioned repeatedly as an alternative if not a complement
    to the expropriations.

    ¶8. (U) Expropriations in "Las Baulas" National Park have progressed
    in a way reasonably consistent with the rule of law, although there
    have been enough irregularities to provide ammunition to all parties
    involved.  The process will likely continue for years.  The Embassy
    will continue to actively monitor the case.

    -----------------
    BUSINESS DISPUTES
    -----------------

    CLAIMANT E

    ¶9. (U) An American oil company was granted a concession for offshore
    exploration in 1998.  When the previous administration of President
    Abel Pacheco entered office in 2002, it announced that it would not
    allow offshore oil exploration.  The claimant pursued legal recourse
    for damages suffered when his concession contract was cancelled.  In
    different decisions over the last several years, Costa Rican courts
    have ruled in favor of both the claimant and the GOCR.  Following a
    court decision in favor of the claimant for damages, the GOCR
    responded in January 2005 by declaring the claimant in breach of
    contract for non-performance.  In April 2005, the claimant responded
    to the breach of contract charge by counter-suing the GOCR.  The
    claimant countered that non-performance was caused by the original
    GOCR finding that environmental impact studies were inadequate,
    which delayed work.  For the past year, the claimant has been in
    discussions to sell the concession to another firm, and recently
    informed the Embassy that this could happen "over the summer"
    (June-August).  The claimant continues to simultaneously seek
    compensation in Costa Rican courts, which he will abandon once the
    sale of the concession is finalized.

    ¶10. (U) Minister Dobles stated in a recent meeting with US Embassy
    representatives that the GOCR is looking to renew gas and petroleum
    exploration in Cost Rica and that the GOCR is currently waiting for
    a ruling from the Procurator General's office determining whether
    the claimant's lease is legally finished ("juridicamente terminado")
    or not.  When asked if there is any room for arbitration with the
    claimant's case, he stated "that train already left the station"
    ("esta etapa ya paso").  That is, if the Procuraduria decides that
    the claimant's concession is legally finished, then the claimant's
    only recourse by the GOCR's reckoning is in the Costa Rican courts
    of law.  Embassy representatives were given the impression that
    there is a good chance that the Procuraduria will decide that the
    claimant's concession is not legally finished and can therefore be
    revived.  However, Minister Dobles gave the clear impression that
    the GOCR would not look favorably upon revival of the lease while
    the plaintiff is still sueing for damages.

    ---------------------------
    IDENTIFICATION OF CLAIMANTS
    ---------------------------

    ¶11. (SBU) The three cases are identified as follow:

    -- Claimant C:  Rancho Gessling, S.A.
    -- Claimants D:  Brett Berkowitz, Glenn Gremillion, John Gill, Greg
    Rogers and Wayne Cates (petitioners).  Louis Wilson,(hotel owner).
    -- Claimant E:  Harken Energy Corporation/MKJ

    CIANCHETTE

`