The Chief Judge of the Commercial Court has reportedly threatened to rule in a US$5 million auditing lawsuit against the Secretary of the Senate Secretary, Nanborlor Sngbeh, despite being complained of gross ethical breach before the Judiciary Inquiry Commission (JIC) on the matter.
Judge Eva Mappy Morgan was complained by Hans Armstrong a British national and Attorney -In-Fact to two Czech Republic investors Martin and Pavel Miloschewsky who had accused her of issuing an “inventory mandate” for the assets of their company, MHM Eko Liberia, without the knowledge of his legal team, who had filed the petition for auditing since 2017.
In her notice of assignment dated July 31, the judge wrote:” You are further commended to notify the parties that upon failure on the part of any to appear in court on August 8, at 1:30pm, judgment will be rendered against it by default.”
Immediately after being with the request for assignment, the Gongloe and Associates Law Firm, on August 2, filed a motion for recusal.
In the motion, the Gongloe Law Firm argued that Judge Morgan, in her response to the JIC against Armstrong’s compliant, dated May 23, she referred to Armstrong as “criminal, touts of Justice Minister Frank Musa Dean.”
” Judge Morgan also accused Armstrong of manipulating the Liberia Judicial System, a grave allegation, which Armstrong vehemently challenged and denied, ” the motion of recusal added.
The motion further argued that Judge Morgan exhibited lack of cool neutrality in the case, ” as your personal interest has been shown in the case whenever it is called. This is evidenced by your Honor’s sua sponte ordered issuance of an assignment in the case without any of the parties requesting same.”
It continues,” this move further shows Your Honor lack of neutrality and shows personal interest in the case.”” Therefore, Your Honor is conflicted to preside over this case pursuance to the law. “
Before the motion for recusal, Armstrong’s lawyer on July 17, wrote Chief Justice Sie -A-Nyene Yuoh to assign another judge to the case, due to his complaint of gross ethical breached against Judge Morgan.
The letter reads: “May it please Your Honor, we hesitate to inform you that because of the compliant against the Chief Judge of the Commercial Court’, Her Honor Eva Mappy Morgan, Mr. Armstrong case cannot be heard and hence, we are therefore praying, Your Honor to assign an Ad-Hoc Judge to the Commercial Court’ for the purpose of adjudicating the matter involving our client.”
It further reads: ” We pray that our request be granted by your honorable office in the interest and spirit of fair play and transparent justice. “
Despite the letter to Chief Justice Sie -A-Nyene Yuoh, it appears that she has not taking any step leading to Judge Morgan’s request for assignment.
Also, since July 11, Armstrong’s lawyer wrote Her Honor Jamesetta H. Wokokollie, Associate Justice and Chairperson of the JIC for an assignment for hearing of his gross ethical breached complaint against Judge Morgan.
Justice Wokokollie office received the letter, but up to present and including Judge Morgan’s assignment nothing has reportedly been heard about the communication.
The request for inventory, according to Armstrong, came from Nanborlor Singbeh, the Secretary of the Liberian Senate —who the Miloschewsky brothers have sued for allegedly misapplying equipment and monies meant for the operation of MHM Eko.
According to Armstrong, Singbeh, a minority shareholder in the company, conspired verbally with Judge Morgan to have the court take inventory of MHM Eko stocks without a hearing.
Morgan’s alleged action, according to Armstrong, is a breach of ethics as the request was verbal and not debated in court.
Accompanying Armstrong’s letter to Chief Justice Yuoh was a copy of a document containing “minutes of a meeting” held in 2017 in Prague, Czech Republic, in which Singbeh described himself as “having absolute control over the other two branches of the government, the executive and the judiciary.”
“I have been using my contacts with the government not to pay income tax for my local and foreign workers, because every company established and carrying on employment must present a payroll to the ministry along with the payment of income tax collected from its staff or employees,” the document quoted Singbeh as saying.
According to Armstrong, the judge’s action supported Singbeh’s statement to his majority shareholders, for which the judge should be investigated for “unprofessional and ethical breach.”
The Miloschewsky brothers’ complaint against Mappy Morgan comes nearly a year after the Supreme Court overturned an investigative report from the Judicial Inquiry Commission in which the judge was found liable for unethical behavior.
The Commission, which has the authority to investigate complaints against judges of courts of record and non-record, had ruled that Mappy Morgan violated some provision of the Judicial Canons while presiding over the Ducor Petroleum case, where US$3.3 million was allegedly withdrawn from an escrow account of the company without the consent of the other party.
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