–For Action Of Damages For Wrong For Libel And Slander By Attachment
The Chairman of the Liberty Party (LP), Musa Hassan Bility, has sued Montserrado County Senator, Abraham Darius Dillon, as a way of seeking redress through the courts for what he considered damages against his character by libel and slander; therefore, the Resident Circuit Judge of the Sixth Judicial Civil Law Court of Montserrado County, J. Kennedy Peabody, has issued a writ of summons, followed by an order of arrest, for Senator Dillon to appear before the court on February 3, 2022 to answer to Bility’s complaint against him.
Worse of it, Judge Peabody ordered that the Sheriff of court arrest the living body of Senator Dillon and keep him in custody should he fail to show property(ies) to cover the amount in the attachment and garnishment, and to have him comply with the terms and conditions of the Attachment Orders of the court.
Senator Dillon, on several occasions on Facebook, OK FM and other news outlets accused Chairman Bility of being a fraudster and a criminal—crimes that Bility sees as damaging to his character as a respectable person in society.
In his complaint to the Civil Law Court, Bility submitted that, sometime in last year, between November—December 2021 and January 15, 2022, he became a target of blackmail, libel, slander, malicious stigmatization on social media purely found on the pillar of political agenda and “ill will” and lies against his good name and reputation when defendant Dillon accused him of being a “criminal and fraudster”.
Bility provided a 1-page document and a YouTube link of Spoon TV recording of Dillon defaming his reputation as a material and integral evidence of his complaint, emphasizing that it was all intended to defame and tarnish his reputation, thereby negatively tainting, staining and fouling his political and business standing and career, both within and without the Republic of Liberia.
He argued that Dillon’s stories of “fraudster and criminality” are characterized by falsehood and lack any factual sufficiency. He gave notice that, during the court proceedings, he will cause the issuance of the writs of subpoena duces tecum and ad testificadum to be served on the media, FrontPage Africa, OK FM and other media entities, which carried and published Dillon’s libelous publications and statements against him.
Bility noted that, specifically on December 9, 2021, defendant Darius Dillon defamed him in the FrontPage Africa newspaper by saying, “Musa is a criminal—I can prove it…LP went to a conflict resolution hearing and Musa signed the document confessing that he criminally altered the constitution of Liberty Party to shift authority that was not granted with them.”
Bility, who sued Dillon by and through the Consortium of Legal Practitioners Incorporated, headed by Cllr. Arthur Johnson, said Dillon is determined to continue his scheme of slander and libelous publications against him; therefore, he maintained that the defamatory stories are untrue and intended only to wrongly injure his good and hard-earned reputation, for which he demands damages award from Dillon in the amount not less than US$1 million in general damages to be decided by the jury, and legal and other fees associated with the legal proceedings, amounting to US$500,000.
“Wherefore and in view of the foregoing, plaintiff prays Your Honor and this Honorable Court to grant plaintiff’s complaint and prayer for damages against the defendant in the amount not less than US$1,000,000.00 in general damages to be decided by the trial jury and an order to have defendant pay to plaintiff all legal and other necessary fees associated with these proceedings. Plaintiff further prays your honor to grant plaintiff all other reliefs that this Honorable Court will deem just, fair, legal and equitable,” Bility’s complaint noted.