Brave Dickson
A shipping firm known as M Cape Bank has continued its moves to retrieve about 50 million dollars it initially keep with a federal high court in Port Harcourt as bank guaranty.
The shipping firm was said to have issued a bank guaranty containing the said sum before the court when its plaintiff in the suit, Port Terminal Authority instituted a civil proceeding praying the court to arrest its vessel.
The legal action sought by the plaintiff came as a result of non payment of demurrage fees allegedly owed the plaintiff by the shipping firm.
In order for the ship not to be arrested through court order, the defendant quickly issued a bank guaranty which it forwarded to the court pending the determination of the substantive suit.
Shortly after praying the court for a long adjournment instead of sine die, lawyer to the defendant, Barr Gabriel Chikelu told our correspondent the complication surrounding the money.
He said, “this matter was struck out by the trial court following motion we brought notifying the court that the plaintiff’s writ was not signed.
“The ruling of the trial court was challenged at the court of appeal by the plaintiff which was also struck out.
“The plaintiff didn’t stop there and has headed to the supreme court to reverse the previous judgement in their favour.
“We came to inform the court of first instance in this matter about the development at the supreme Court.
“We only need long adjournment because if the court adjourned sine die, the litigation file will be transferred to the court achives. Consequently, it will be difficult to retrieve the money we deposited with the court if the supreme court determined the matter in our favour.”
Presiding Justice Hillary Oshomah therefore adjourned the suit till June 3, 2019.
