MONROVIA – Last Friday, the offices of Spoon Network were forcibly closed under the direction of the Civil Law Court. This action was taken in response to a lawsuit filed by Mr. Wilmot Smith, the former Deputy Director General for Information Coordination at the Liberia Institute of Statistics and Geo-Information Services. The lawsuit, seeking damages for slander and libel, included an attachment of US$5,250,000.
By Lennart Dodoo, [email protected]
This means, the defendants – Spoon Network and its CEO, Mr. Stanton Witherspoon, are to make available an indemnity bond which will cover one and half of the amount of the attachment amount of US$5,250,000. This means the media house is expected to file a bond of US$3,500,000.00.
An indemnity bond, also known as a surety bond or indemnity agreement, is a legal contract between two parties that provides financial protection against potential losses or damages. It is a form of insurance that ensures one party will compensate the other party for any losses incurred due to a specific event or circumstance.
The court sheriffs were ordered to close the offices of the Defendants, arrest their living bodies and keep them in custody should they fail to show properties to cover the amount in the attachment and to have them comply with the terms and conditions of the attachment order.
The Complaint
In January of this year, the defendants were summoned by the Civil Law Court and were requested to appear on March 20, 2023. This legal action was initiated due to multiple allegations made on the Spoon Talkshow against Smith, accusing Smith of making unauthorized withdrawals from the LISGIS Ecobank Account. These actions were alleged to have led the entity to bankruptcy, consequently impeding the smooth execution of the 2023 population census.
On March 10, 2023 ruling, the Civil Law Court issued an order for a separate and severance trial in a defamation case filed by Mr. Wilmot Smith against the Management of Spoon TV and FM Communication Network and Staton Waterspoon.
The court record revealed that the first defendant, Spoon TV and FM Communication Network, had been served with the writ of summons, while the second defendant, Staton Waterspoon, had not been served. As a result, the plaintiff, Mr. Smith, requested a writ of re-summons, which was granted by the court. However, even after the re-summons was issued, the second defendant, Mr. Witherspoon, was still not served. Consequently, the plaintiff requested a summons by publication, which was also granted.
On January 16, 2023, Spoon Network and TV filed its answer to Smith’s complaint. During the proceedings, Smith requested the court to grant a separate trial and place Witherspoon on bare denial, arguing that all defendants were now under the court’s jurisdiction. In response, Spoon Communications Network contended that the service by publication was not conducted legally, claiming that the publication was not mailed to the last known address of Mr. Witherspoon.
After considering the arguments presented by both parties, the court ruled in favor of Mr. Smith. The court noted that Spoon Communications Network had explicitly distinguished itself from Mr. Witherspoon in its answer, indicating that it did not represent the interests of Mr. Witherspoon. Based on this observation, the court concluded that Spoon Network lacked the capacity and standing to raise issues on behalf of Mr. Witherspoon.
The court also found that Mr. Witherspoon had been brought under its jurisdiction through the publication filed by Smith. As a result, the court ruled that all parties were under its jurisdiction. However, due to Mr. Witherspoon’s location outside the Republic of Liberia, it was deemed impossible to try both parties together.
Citing the relevant sections of the Civil Procedure Law, the court granted Mr. Smith’s request for a separate and severance trial. The resistant argument presented by the first was denied. Additionally, since Witherspoon had failed to file an answer to the plaintiff’s complaint, they were placed on bare denial.