MONROVIA – The heirs of the Ansumana Jabateh, Dutee Donzo, and Morlie Kromah have filed separate complaints against judges Roland F. Dahn, His Honor J. Boima Kontoe, and His Honor Emery S. Paye, none lawyer Richard G. Davies and David M. Bai as well as their law firms for the alleged injustices meted on them by the judges and the practice of law by a non-lawyer.
Families of the Ansuman Jabateh, Dutee Donzo, and Morlie Kromah have officially complained to judge Emery S. Paye, retired Resident Circuit Judge, Nimba County, the Republic of Liberia for the execution of a void and fraudulent judgment against them.
The families also officially complained His Honor Roland F. Dahn, His Honor J. Boima Kontoe, and His Honor Emery S. Paye for the improper manner and form in which the case involving their grandparents’ properties was handled by them as a consequence of which more than fifty-five thousand seven hundred twenty-one dollars thirty-seven cent United States Dollar (55.721.37 USD) worth of properties was damaged.
The families in their complaints stated that the matter which started in 2015 when Fred P. Suah Johnson by and thru the Garlawolo Law Firm with “Attorney” Richard G. Davies as a lawyer of that law firm, filed an Action of Ejectment against Ansumana Jabateh, Dutee Donzo, and Morlie Kromah. In that same year, the retired Resident Circuit Judge of Nimba County, His Honor Emery S. Paye, rendered a default judgment based on series of notices of assignments that were allegedly rejected by the individuals herein named.
The judgment was obtained by “Attorney” Richard G. Davies of the Garlawolo Law Firm as a lawyer for Fred P. Suah Johnson against “Attorney” David M. Bai of Constance Law Firm as the lawyer for Dutee Donzo, Ansumana Jabateh, and Morlie Kromah. Messrs. Davies and Bai are all non-lawyers and legally prohibited from practicing law in this country. The filling of the Complaint by a non-lawyer as well as the filling of an Answer by another non-lawyer was a clear machination because the Donzo, Jabateh, and Kromah had no knowledge of the Answer filed. The victims are heirs and administrators of the Intestate Estates of Dutee Donzo, Ansumana Jabateh, and Morlie Kromah who never received any precept from the court.
They stated that on March 5, 2018, Judge Emery S. Paye cited the three families to a conference on March 8, 2018 and At said conference, their lawyer, Atty. Amara A. Kenneh, informed His Honor Paye that the judgment relied on by Fred Suah was fraudulent and void on the face and not enforceable on the ground that the individuals (Richard G. Davies and David M. Bai) represented the parties are non-lawyers and could not practice law in Liberia.
Their lawyer, according to the complaint, presented attestations from the Liberia National Bar Association to that effect but His Honor Emery S. Paye did not seek any further enforcement of the judgment after said conference until he retired later the same year.
The complaint also noted that on January 4, 2019, His Honor Yamie Quiui Gbeisay, Sr. heard and denied the bill of information and sustained the returns thereto but declined to issue a new order for enforcing the void and fraudulent judgment.
Also On February 12, 2019, their lawyer again made another attempt to stop this void and fraudulent judgment being enforced against us by filing a motion to relief from judgment before His Honor Roland F. Dahn, raising almost the same issues and His Honor Dahn denied the motion to relief from judgment and ordered their eviction to be by the aid of the Liberia National Police.
According to the complaint, on March 4, 2019, their lawyer (Counsellor Snisio Nigba) filed a petition for the writ of prohibition before His Honor Justice Nagbe of the Honorable Supreme Court of Liberia to see how he could avert the enforcement of this void and fraudulent judgment against them simply because he was convinced that we were not served with any paper from the court but The Justice in Chambers then, His Honor Nagbe declined to issue the writ and ordered the case proceeded with in keeping with law; that is, to oust and evict us.
But On April 19, 2021, they were surprisingly attacked by a group of anti-riot police at about 5:00 a.m in the morning with a writ of possession that was issued in 2019 after the hearing at the Supreme Court. “ We were informed that Counsellor Wellington G. Bedell got a new order from Judge J. Boimah Kontoe which necessitated the current eviction and demolition of our properties. We were not served with the new order from Judge Kontoe” according to the family.
The families therefore called on the Honorable Supreme Court to investigate the conducts of the above named judges to ascertain as to what motivated, encouraged, and enthused them to enforce a void and fraudulent judgment against a group of peace loving citizens of Liberia, especially so when the law regarding the unauthorized practice of law in this jurisdiction as well as the Honorable Supreme Court of Liberia’s stance on said unauthorized practice of law was made crystal clear to the court and yet they ignored same and proceeded to oust, evict, and subsequently demolish more than fifty-five thousand (55.000.00 USD) United States Dollars’ worth of properties and made hundreds of people homeless illegally and are of the strong conviction that this is travesty of justice that should not go unpunished so as to restore sanity in judiciary.
They also urged the Honorable Supreme Court to investigate the lawyers and their respective law firms simply because they know fully well that Richard G. Davies and David M. Bai were not lawyers and could not practice law in Liberia. Moreover, they pushed the case further after our lawyer had made them to understand that the judgment they were trying to enforce was not a good judgment in the spirit of the law. We believe that they were aiding and abetting the illegal practice of law by insisting that the judgment obtained by non-lawyers should be enforced at all cause against us. We also want this honorable body to hold these lawyers responsible for the losses we sustained.
“We believe that all Liberians are equal before the laws of the land. It is highly disheartening to note that the Honorable Supreme Court of the Republic of Liberia’s decision on the unauthorized practice of law will be ignored by judges simply because the parties that are raising this issue before the court are from the minority group that should not be protected by the laws of the land. The conducts of judges should be beyond reproach, prejudice, sentiment, and emotion for they are the beacons of hope for peace, stability, tranquility, equity, and justice in the land. We certainly did not see these qualities in the above-mentioned Judges in their handling of this matter,” stated the families in their complaint.
“In view of the above, we would appreciate a full investigation into this matter and the appropriate legal actions taken so as to restore our rights and ensure that justice is served” the Donzo, Jabateh and Kromah families concluded.
Meanwhile, the Donzo, Jabateh, and Kromah families have strongly responded to the Nimba County Bar Association’s press release on April 23, 2021.
The families according to a release said they are not surprised by the release in view of the fact that they are of the conviction that when emotion and sentiment become the driving force behind any investigation, same is prone to erroneous analyses and findings as evidenced by the press release from the Nimba Bar Association, an institution that we think should be freed from all forms of prejudices.
The families therefore pose the following questions to the Bar to ascertain as to whether it really delved into the case file during its investigation.
- Is a void judgment enforceable in a competent court of jurisdiction in Liberia?
- Is Richard G. Davies a lawyer who is allowed to practice law in Liberia?
- Is David M. Bai a lawyer who is permitted to practice law in Liberia?
- What is the Honorable Supreme Court’s stance on unauthorized practice of law in Liberia?
- Who obtained the judgment that is being sought to be enforced?
- What is the law on unauthorized practice of law in Liberia?
- Does fraud vitiate claim in our jurisdiction in Liberia?
- Can a court of law enforce a judgment obtained by non-lawyers?
- Can a judgment affect a party that was not brought under the jurisdiction of the court?
- Did the Bar read the names of the parties on the Writ of Summons and the Written Directions?
- Did the Bar read the Answer filed by David M. Bai?
- Did the administrators of the intestate estates of Dutee Donzo, Ansumana Jabateh, Kalifala Donzo, and Morlie Kromah raised the aforementioned issues with the court?
- What was the rulings of the court after those issues were raised?
- Why the court did rule contrary to the law prevailing in such an instance?
- What is the track records of His Honor Emery S. Paye in the judiciary in Liberia? The families believe that if the Bar gets back to the case file and provides answers to the above questions, the public will know whether the laws of the land were circumvented to satisfy a segment of the society that feels privileged because of the system.
According to them, they will remain law abiding and will not tolerate the circumvention of the law with the primary objective of targeting them.
According to the release, There is every piece of evidence to prove that this judgment is a concoction between Richard G. Davies, David M. Bai, and Emery S. Paye. Judge Paye is quite aware that these individuals are non-lawyers and should not practice law in Liberia let alone to file papers before a court of records.
This according to them is not only ridiculous but shows a very high level of unethical conduct that has also characterized his behavior as a judge before being retired. This is also evidenced by series of suspensions by the Honorable Supreme Court of Liberia for unethical conduct; the records are as clear as water before the Honorable Supreme Court on Judge Emery S. Paye who rendered this default judgment.
They reiterated the submission of separate complaints to the Honorable Supreme Court of the Republic of Liberia against the lawyers that are involved with this matter as well as the judges that grossly ignored the law in this case. We believe that the Chief Justice will expeditiously order the relevant commission to begin to address those issues raised in our complaint.