Monrovia – The Guaranty Bank (GT) and its ex-manager Ayodeji Bejidi are to go on trial for a US$1 million damages.
Report by Kennedy L. Yangian, [email protected]
Civil Law Court “B” at the Temple Justice thru its presiding Judge Scheaplor Dunbar announced the decision in his ruling handed down Wednesday, January 16 following argument pros and cons between the bank’s lawyer and
Freeman had filed an action of damages in the amount of US$1 million to the court for the alleged assault carried out against him by the bank’s ex-manager.
According to Freeman, Bejidi threatened to dismiss him if he alarmed about the assault on him.
Reacting to Freeman’s claim, the bank thru its legal counsel Cllr. Joseph Kollie prayed the court to drop the bank out of the lawsuit.
In its motion to drop the bank, the lawyer argued that Section 5.56 of the Civil Procedure Law provides that parties may be dropped by order of the court on motion of the party or on the court’s own initiative at any stage of the action on terms that are just.
He argued that the allegation from Freeman that the bank is a party to the case is without an iota of truth, describing such as a “mere allegation” without sufficient proof.
“Plaintiff’s belief and allegation that the bank is a party is a mere speculation and assumption and unfounded in law because if the bank was a party or had authorized the act of its ex-manager, it should have been investigated by the Liberia National Police (LNP) and brought under the jurisdiction of the court,” claimed Cllr. Kollie.
Handling down his ruling on the motion, Judge Dunbar indicated that in the instant case,the bank being an employer of the ex-manager is a necessary and indispensable party/defendant in this case.
Judge Dunbar added that as an employer, the bank is liable under the doctrine of respondeat superior for the wrongful conduct of the ex-manager and that the doctrine of respondeat superior is one of vicarious liability, allowing the employer to be held liable for the acts of employee’s tortious act.
Judge Dunbar continued that the court cannot and will not drop the bank as a mis-joined party because the ex-manager has not been brought under the jurisdiction of the court because the court was informed that he was whisked out of the country when he was granted bail.