Court strikes out Ecobank’s petition to wind up Honeywell
(Nigeria) A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, on Monday, struck out
the application by Ecobank Nigeria Plc, seeking to wind-up Honeywell and its
sister company, Anchorage Leisures Limited, for abuse of court process.
Pending suits before the court involving same parties
include FHC/L/CS/1571/15 Ecobank v. Honeywell Group Limited and
FHC/L/CS/1570/15 Ecobank v Anchorage Leisures Limited, which were the petitions
for winding–up filed by Ecobank against Honeywell and Anchorage Leisures.
Trial judge, Justice Jude
Dagat in his ruling, noted that a
court faced with winding up application, must first determine if the petition
was brought in good faith. According to him, Ecobank knew that Honeywell was
challenging the alleged debt and had instituted a matter before Justice
Mohammed Idris of the same court, who had ruled that parties maintain status
quo ante bellum.
The judge said that despite the suits, Ecobank started its
forum shopping by filing winding up petitions instead of recovery of the alleged
debt, adding that Honeywell had made payments to the tune of N3.5 billion as
full and final payment pursuant to the agreement of July 22, 2014 by the parties.
Justice Dagat stated that since the matter pending before
Justice Idris was premised on the same facts as the petition, there was an
established abuse of the orders of Justice Idris regarding maintenance of
status quo ante bellum.
The court held that
the matter before Justice Idris was first in time, therefore, the subsequent
petition by Ecobank constitutes an abuse of court process.
The court held that Ecobank’s petition was aimed at
overreaching the powers of the Federal High court in the suit before Justice
Idris.
He said, “The Supreme Court has made it clear that it would
amount to a travesty of justice for any court to hear a matter that is already
before another court of coordinate jurisdiction.”
The judge further ruled that if the court should proceed
with Ecobank’s petition, it would create a conflict of decisions by different
courts, which will not augur well within the judiciary.
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