DAVID WISSINGER, Appellant, v. HAFEZ M. JAWHARY, by and thru his Attorney-In-Fact, MOSES M. AGBAJE, Appellee.

JUDGMENT WITHOUT OPINION

Decided: February 4, 1983

Notices of assignment is the precept by which party litigants before this Court, or any other court of justice for that matter, are notified of the time and date for the hearing of their cases. In this case, the below quoted notice of assignment was issued, served and returned served; it reads as follows:
“IN THE PEOPLE’S SUPREME COURT OF THE REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA OCTOBER TERM, A. D. 1982

“David Wissinger, an American )
National, presently residing and)
doing business in the City of )
Monrovia, Liberia, APPELLANT )
)
v. ) ) ACTION OF DEBT
) BY ATTACHMENT
Hafez M. Jawhary, by and ) MOTION TO
thru his Attorney-in-Fact, ) DISMISS APPEAL
Moses M. Agbaje, Sr. also )
of the City of Monrovia, )
Liberia . . . . APPELLEE )

“NOTICE OF ASSIGNMENT
“REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA,
TO: BRIG. GENERAL JEHU T. STRYKER,
MARSHAL, PEOPLE’S SUPREME COURT, REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA, MONROVIA

“YOU ARE HEREBY COMMANDED to notify the parties in the above entitled cause of action, or their legal representatives, that the Honourable the People’s Supreme Court of the Republic of Liberia will proceed to hear ruling/arguments pro et con in the said cause on the 12th day of January, A. D. 1983, at the hour of nine o’clock in the morning, and that they are cited to be present for the same.
“AND HAVE YOU THERE THIS NOTICE OF ASSIGN-MENT.

“Given under my hand and Seal of this Honourable Court, this 11th day of January, A. D. 1983.
/s/Etna Scott-Acolatse
CLERK, PEOPLE’S SUPREME COURT
COUNSELLOR: /s/ Moses M. Agbaje, Sr. for appellee
COUNSELLOR: /s/ The Peter Amos George Law Firm, for appellant.”

“MARSHAL’ S RETURNS
“On the 11th day of January, 1983, Bailiff Joseph Toe served the within named notice of assignment on Counsellor Moses Agbaje for appellee and Counsellor J. K. Burphy for appellant, and notified them to appear in Court on the date and hour mentioned therein. Hence, I now make this as my official returns in the Clerk’s Office.

Dated 11/1/83
/s/ Peter Paul Heab
DEPUTY MARSHAL
PEOPLE’S SUPREME COURT, R. L.”

When this case was called for hearing, in which a motion to dismiss appellant’s appeal had been filed since September 27, 1982, to which no resistance was filed, neither of the parties in person nor their counsel who acknowledged the notice of assignment appeared. The failure of an appellant to appear in the Supreme Court to prosecute the appeal he has taken, is a ground for the dismissal of the appeal. In view of the failure of the appellant in this case to appear and prosecute the appeal, it is hereby adjudged that appellant’s appeal be, and the same is hereby dismissed with costs against the appellant. The Clerk of this Court is hereby ordered to have the case stricken from the docket of this Court, and to send a mandate to the Court below to resume jurisdiction and enforce its judgment. And it is hereby so ordered.

NOTE: Associate Justice Koroma, because of illness, did not sit and hence did not sign this judgment.

Associate Justice Morris is of the opinion that the motion to dismiss the appeal should have been dismissed for failure of the movant to appear, and the case be assigned for hearing; hence, did not sign this judgment.