KAMIL M. BOUHADIR, Lebanese Trader Transacting Mercantile Business in Liberia, Appellant, v. DAYYOU-GAR and N. A. BULL, Justice of the Peace, Grand Bassa County, Appellees.

APPEAL PROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE SECOND JUDICIAL CIRCUIT, GRAND BASSA COUNTY. Argued March 18, 1963. Decided May 9, 1963. A judgment by default rendered in a justice of the peace court cannot be appealed after a summary investigation has shown that the party against whom the judgment was rendered was inexcusably absent from the trial and rested his defense therein on a bare denial. Appellant failed to appear as defendant in an action for damages in a justice of the peace court, whereupon judgment by default was rendered against him. He petitioned the circuit court for a summary investigation of the justice of the peace, and following the investigation, appealed from the circuit court’s denial of relief therein to the Supreme Court, which affirmed both the original judgment and the ruling of the circuit court on the summary investigation. William Cisco and Michael Johnson for appellant. Jacob Willis for appellee. MR. Court. JUSTICE HARRIS delivered the opinion of the The genesis of this case is as follows. Appellee DayYou-Gar, a resident of Lower Buchanan, Grand Bassa County, instituted an action of damages against the appellant in Justice of the Peace John Sango’s court; but the said appellant, upon being summoned, changed venue before Justice of the Peace N. A. Bull of the same mu328 LIBERIAN LAW REPORTS 329 nicipality. After changing venue before Justice N. A. Bull, said appellant was duly notified of the date assigned for the trial of the case, but failed to appear, whereupon judgment by default was rendered against him. Subsequently, appellant approached the Justice presiding in Chambers and informed him that he desired to appeal to the Circuit Court of the Second Judicial Circuit, Grand Bassa County, which appeal the Justice did not grant, being out of Court. Thereupon, the appellant petitioned the Circuit Court of the Second Judicial Circuit, Grand Bassa County, for a summary investigation against Justice of the Peace N. A. Bull, which investigation resulted in the denial of said petition. To this denial, petitioner below, now appellant, took exceptions and announced an appeal to the Supreme Court of Liberia upon a bill of exceptions containing four counts. The four counts in the bill of exceptions are complaints against Judge Findley of the Circuit Court of the Second Judicial Circuit, Grand Bassa County, for having denied his petition to investigate a justice of the peace for the County of Grand Bassa for having legally performed his duty by rendering a judgment by default against a defendant who, although duly summoned and brought under the jurisdiction of the court, as well as notified as to the date of the assignment of the trial of the case, absented himself and never appeared in court. What was he able to tell the judge against the justice of the peace when he never appeared in court? We are of the opinion that a defendant who has been legally summoned in an action, and thereby brought under the jurisdiction of the court, as well as having had notice of the date of the trial of the case, but who has failed to appear and, when judgment by default is rendered against him, rests his defense upon a bare denial, cannot thereafter be heard to raise any plea to the effect that he was never present in court during the trial of the case. If we .encouraged an action against a justice of the peace for performing his duty, we would 330 LIBERIAN LAW REPORTS be encouraging disrespect for constituted authority; and this we would never do. It was the responsibility of the appellant to appear in the court of the justice of the peace, so as to furnish a basis for exceptions and appeal. The ruling of the judge denying the petition herein is, therefore, affirmed, as well as the judgment of the justice of the peace; and same is ordered enforced with costs against the petitioner. And it is so ordered. The clerk of this Court is hereby ordered to send a mandate down to the court below ordering the enforcement of the same. Affirmed.