Monrovia – The Civil Law Court “B” at the Temple of Justice has set aside recent verdict rendered by jurors of the court and order for a new trial in the case Charles Johnson and others versus Jessie Payne.
Report by Kennedy L. Yangian [email protected]
The case, which was transferred from the Monthly and Probate Court at the Temple of Justice in September 2016, has grown out of petition for the revocation of the letter of administration issued by the late Geneva Johnson Duff to Jessie Payne to manage her interstate.
In the petition filed to the Civil Law Court “B” by petitioners, Charles Frederick, Cephas, Jackie Johnson prayed the court to revoke the letter of administration issued to Payne due to fraud.
During the trial, which commenced on September 20th, 2016, one of the Petitioners Margaret Johnson told the court in her general testimony that she got to know Jessie Payne in 1983 when Geneva Johnson Duff died, and at the time she knew him he used to bring food and money to the late Duff.
Witness Johnson indicated further that after the death of the Duff, Victoria Johnson Maxwell obtained letters of administration from the Monthly and Probate Court of Montserrado County to administer the interstate of the late Geneva Johnson.
According to Johnson, since she was living in America and could not run the affairs of the properties in Liberia, she told Jessie Payne of the problems existing with her properties in Liberia, appointing him as her Attorney-In-Fact.
But Payne denied the claim and in his response to the petition and told the court and jury that he was adopted by the late Duff in 1960 and his adoption was the result of his late adopted mother Duff interest developed in him during the period 1958-59, following several visitations at the residence of Jimmy Barrolle on Clay Street by his late father and him.
Payne continued that in early 1960 he began living with the late Duff and got to know about his adoption in 1973 after the death of his late father.
He also told the court and jury that he had made several representations on behalf of the late Duff, including securing some rental benefits that were denied her and also made representation on behalf of the late Victoria Johnson Maxwell, sister of the late Duff in helping to retrieve properties of hers that were encroached upon in Liberia.
During the course of the trial, the petitioners the Johnsons produced five regular witnesses, three subpoenaed witnesses and two rebuttal witnesses; while respondent Jessie Payne produced three regular witnesses, including the Acting Director of Archives at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Morris Kollie, who confirmed the court’s decree of adoption for Jessie Payne.
On September 20, 2016 the petit jury, at the conclusion of the trial and following room of deliberations on October 6, 2016, returned a unanimous liable verdict against respondent Payne.
Following the ruling, respondent Payne filed a six-count motion for new trial arguing that the jury verdict be set aside and new trial awarded because the verdict was contrary to the weight of evidence adduced at the trial.
After argument over the motion for new argument between the movant and the petitioners’ lawyers, the court ruled and awarded Payne a new trial indicating that a trial judge was only permitted to set aside a jury’s verdict when in his or her judgment the verdict was against the weight of the evidence or when setting such verdict aside would be in the interest of transparent justice.
“Wherefore and in view of the foregoing, the movant (Payne’s) motion for new trial is hereby granted and the respondent resistance is hereby denied and the clerk of this court is hereby ordered to place this case on the docket of the December 2016 term of Court for trial,” said Judge Johannes Zogbay Zlahn.
