Much anticipated ruling by Her Honor Eva Mappy Morgan, presiding Judge of the Commercial Court failed to take place as lawyers representing the Ministry of Finance & Development Planning requested continuance due to illness and other ‘unforeseen circumstances.
This delay comes at a time when the presiding Judge of the Commercial Court at the Temple of Justice, Eva Mappy Morgan was set to have render a legal decision in the case: Prestige Motors Corporation and the Alliance Motors Corporation, two of the member companies of the Haddad Group of Companies (Plaintiff) Versus the Government of the Republic of Liberia, represented by the Ministers of Finance and Justice (Defendant) ‘Action of Debt’.
In a jammed-packed courtroom some onlookers attributed the request for continuance by MFDP lawyers to a well calculated “delay-Tactics” on the part of Liberian Government to forfeit its financial obligation with the Prestige and Alliance Motors Corporation in the settlement of over Ten Million United States Dollars owed, at today’s hearing, the legal team representing the Ministry of Finance & Development Planning has again failed to appear.
In his motion for continuance, Cllr. Augustine Fayah, on behalf of Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MDFP) legal team prayed the Court to allow the excuse to enable his colleagues-MDFP adequately come prepare for trial for another date, noting that their presence during the trial will enhance the effectiveness of the case.
For his part, Cllr. G. Moses Paegar, Counsel representing the legal interest of businessman George Haddad and the Prestige Motors Corporation and the Alliance Motors Corporation, objected to the motion for continuance filed by Cllr. Fayah for the trial to be rescheduled, noting that such motion from the legal team of the defendant was a ploy aimed at frustrating and hijacking justice, and therefore, prayed the Court to deny their request.
Interestingly after a five minutes of break as announced by the presiding Judge, the parties resume with an understanding that case be further adjudicated on 1st of December, 2017, noting that “Failure on the part of the defendants’ legal team to appear in court on that day, judgment will be rendered against it by default.”
This long running legal battle between the Prestige and Alliance Motors lawsuit against the Liberian Government ensued due to the GOL alleged failure to settle financial indebtedness to the companies in the amount of US$10.7 million for vehicles and spare parts supplied since 2003 to March 2008.
Court records in the position of this paper shows that Mr. Haddad have not receive any payment or compensation for service rendered following the completion of service which has resulted in a total debt principal of US$10.7 Million and accumulating interest at about US$36 Million for the past seven years.
The decision to resume the case comes two months to the end of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s administration. She is expected to use the money and pay back her government’s inherited debt, and many of the companies the government is allegedly indebted do not want their debts to go unpaid.
The Haddad case was forced to be suspended when Chief Judge Eva Mappy Morgan denied state lawyers’ contention that her court lacked legal jurisdiction over the case.
The lawyers’ argument at that time was that the Commercial Court was established in 2010, and therefore lacked jurisdiction to hear cases beyond 2010.
It was based on that argument that Judge Morgan, in a ruling then, said, “the act that established the Commercial Court in 2010 gives it jurisdiction to handle all commercial matters without intimidation.”
