Monrovia, Liberia- In a significant ruling, the Sixth Judicial Circuit Civil Law Court has issued a writ of possession directing the eviction of the Headquarters of Opposition Political Party Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) from a contested property in Congo Town, Monrovia.
The envision of the CDC Headquarters is a longstanding property dispute involving the Bernard’s family who won a legal judgment for the property in 2016.
The CDC has been renting the property from Mr. Ebrima Varney Dempster since the court’s decision.
In March of this year, the Sixth Judicial Circuit Civil Law Court of Montserrado County issued a double writ, instructing the former ruling party, CDC, to vacate their Congo Town headquarters.
This decision follows the court’s ruling declaring Martha Stubblefield Bernard as the rightful owner of the property, via her administrator Ebrima Varney Dempster.
This comes after the Supreme Court ruled against the CDC in an ejectment action filed with the Supreme Court by Ebrima Varney Dempster on behalf of Martha Stubblefield Bernard.
The supreme court in its ruling confirmed and affirmed the decision of the lower against the former ruling party, CDC.
In August 2023, the CDC received a notice indicating an impending eviction, despite ongoing negotiations to purchase the property.
Judge Golda Elliot of the Sixth Judicial Circuit Civil Law Court issued a warrant of possession on March 7,2024, instructing the court sheriff to remove the defendant’s CDC from its headquarters.
In the second writ issued by judge Elliott, the sheriff was instructed to apprehend the defendants corporate officials and administrators if they did not provide the plaintiff (Dempster) with the requested amount of US$ 54,000 in and over LRD$ 13,000.
The defendants in the action were the late William Thomas Bernard’s interstate, represented by Archibald F. Bernard, Nancy Freddy Bernard Freeman, Murary Bernard, Vivian Bernard, William Bernard, Leona P. Bernard, and Congress for Democratic Change, through its chairman, Nathaniel F. McGill.
The judge ordered the sheriff to confiscate the defendants’ property, belongings, and chattels including the CDC and put them up for auction in the Writ of Execution.
The order states that the property should be seized and sold if the sheriff discovers that US$54,170.00 and US$13,250, plus addition, are not available. If the sheriff is unable to locate any land, goods, or chattel, he must arrest the corporate officer and administrator of the CDC and bring them before the court to be dealt with by the law.
