Chamber Justice Yarmie Quiqui Gbeisay on Friday declined to grant a request from Ecobank, co-defendant, to review the ruling of Judge Scheaplor Dunbar of Civil Law Court annex 'B' in the ongoing US$700, 000 libel case.
Justice Gbeisay, as Chamber Justice of the Supreme Court, under the law has the discretion to grant such a request (writ of certiorari) based on whether it deems the case important enough to review.
Relying on the law, Justice Gbeisay believes that the defendant bank's writ as prayed for does not raise significant legal issues warranting the Supreme Court's intervention, although the justice has initially placed a temporary stay order on the matter, pending the outcome of his hearing into the Ecobank's complaint.
In a one-page ruling, dated Friday, January 24, Cllr. Sam Mamulu, Clerk of the Supreme Court wrote, "By directive of His Honor Yarmie Quiqui Gbeisay, Associate Justice presiding in Chamber, you are hereby mandated to resume jurisdiction and proceed in keeping with law, as the justice has declined to issue the writ prayed for."
Prior to the issuance of the stay order. Ecobank raised concerns about the separation of co-defendant Alex Williams, former Deputy Director General for Statistics and Data Processing at Liberia Institute of Statistics and Geo Information Services (LISGIS) from the bank during the trial.
The bank had argued that on Monday, January 20, when the case was called, Williams' lawyers made an application for separate trial, on grounds that because he was not accorded due process, he did not have the opportunity to participate in the jurors selection process, he did not have the opportunity of examination of Wilmot Smith and his witnesses, who had already testified in the case, thus the court should grant him separate trial.
Unfortunately, the bank argued that on January 15, 2025, at the call of the case, the lawyers representing co-defendant Alex Williams, appeared in court and claimed that he is not aware of the case, because he was not served any document for hearing of the case, even though, court's documents show that Williams received the assignment notice of the case on behalf of his lawyers.
Further to the argument, the bank said, Smith, who sought the US$700,000 libel lawsuit filed a motion for joinder, including Martin K N Kollie and Alex Williams, as co-defendants, who are alleged to be individuals who appeared on the Spoon Network and made the libelous and slanderous statement.
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Despite the inconsistencies of Williams and his lawyers, Judge Dunbar granted the request and subsequently assigned the case with only Ecobank, the defendant. It was that decision, the bank, co-defendant appealed before Justice Gbeisay.
The case centres around a complaint from Smith, the dismissed former deputy director general for information Coordination at LISGIS, who sought US$500,000 in general damages and US$200,000,in punitive damages for alleged libelous and slanderous statement made by Ecobank, Martin K N Kollie and Alex Williams and Yussif Kromah, an employee of the bank.
Smith's argument has been the defendant bank released the LIGIS's Account Statement with Williams, one of the panelists on the Spoon Network and social media, manipulating the information and accused him (Smith) of illegally withdrawing US$1.2million from the National Population and Housing Census fund intended to pay enumerators.
Smith, had claimed that based on the information publicly shared on the Spoon TV and social media platform led to his wrongful dismissal by former President George Weah, which he had filed the lawsuit.
