The Civil Law Court for Montserrado County has scheduled October 3, as the opening date for the US$700,000 damages case filed by Mr. Wilmot Smith, the dismissed former deputy director general for information Coordination at the Liberia Institute of Statistics and Geo Information Services (LIGIS) against the Eco-bank Liberia Limited.
Smith sought seeking US$500,000 as general damages and US$200,000 in punitive damages, on the basis that an employee of the bank, Yussif S. Kromah (co-defendant), who released an alleged misinformation implicating the plaintiff to the illegal withdrawal of monies from the Population Census fund intended to pay enumerators.
According to the writ of summons obtained by the Daily Observer, failure on the part of the bank to appear for the hearing, on October 3, a judgment default will be rendered against it.
Smith's legal team filed an Action of Damages for Wrong by Attachment argue the defendants produce the bank statements of LIGIS's account number#6101350441 and 6100064362 to Mr. Alex Williams, an employee of LIGIS, who is one of the partner list on the Spoon Talk Show to accuse the plaintiff of withdrawing monies from the said accounts, and diverted the same to his personal benefits.
According to Cllr. Arthur Johnson, Smith's lawyer, the bank statements were printed while his client was still in the employ of LIGIS as deputy director.
"The said statements were manipulated by the defendants and the management of Spoon TV, and Mr. Stanton Witherspoon to lie that the said statements were evidence of the wrongful withdrawal," the suit claims.
The court record claims that at the time of the libelous action, co-defendant Kromah was then employed by the co-defendant bank, in the Card Operation Department.
"This act of Kromah was carried out on October 31, 2022, admitted to it in an Affidavit of attestation dated March 30," the record alleges.
The suit further argues that co-defendant Ecobank, after investigating and being fully aware that their conduct against the plaintiff had harmed his reputation, claiming "the defendants engaged in a cosmetic approach of attempting to deal with the situation, dismissed co-defendant Kromah on January 19, 2023."
The lawsuit claims that defendant Ecobank is responsible for the act and conduct of its employee, Kromah, because the co-defendant Eco-bank lawfully employed Kromah." Under the doctrine of Respondent's superior, the employer is responsible for the act and conduct of its employee, especially when the wrongful conduct was done during the course of duty of the employee and within the working hourly time of the employee in the bank facility," the lawsuit said.
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The suit also argued that the willful and calculated acts of the defendants to subject the good and untainted regulations of plaintiff, without any legal jurisdiction, is intended to expose the plaintiff to danger and harm, in the public that he had the enormous sum of money owed to the banking, thereby ignoring the frequency of crimes reported in the Liberian society. "This act of the defendants is wrongful, and the action of damages for Wrong for libel and slander will lie against the defendants."
"The defendant's continuous act to defame the reputation of the plaintiff on national radio stations, print media and other intellectual forums does not only damage and taint the importance of the plaintiff but has clouded and subjected the lives of the plaintiff to unwanted national and international insecurity," the lawsuit said.
According to the suit, the plaintiff is Honorable and has ascended to public trust and integrity position.
"Through these jobs, he can indisputably engage local and international partners for business and development opportunities on behalf of his social life," the suit noted.
It claims that as the result of the Spoon TV and Witherspoon, on radio appearances and defamatory newspaper publication attacking and bringing the hard earned reputation to the public glare and questioning by his national and international partners."
