IPNEWS: The Supreme Court of Liberia has dismissed an appeal in the Allen Brown case, ruling that the respondents failed to complete the mandatory legal requirements necessary to perfect their appeal.
In its ruling, the Supreme Court noted that a final judgment had been entered by the trial court on November 28, 2025, in favor of Urban Marketing in a declaratory judgment action. Although a motion was subsequently filed seeking to have the judgment rescinded, the Supreme Court found that the trial judge had already approved the bills of exceptions filed by the respondents before attempting to rescind the judgment.
The Supreme Court emphasized that while a trial judge has the authority to rescind a judgment during the same term in which it was entered, that authority cannot be exercised after a bill of exceptions has been approved. According to the Court, the approval of the bill of exceptions removes the case from the trial court’s jurisdiction, except for limited ministerial actions connected to the appeal.
The Court further ruled that the respondents failed to file their appeal bonds and failed to serve and file their notices of completion of appeal as required by law. Citing the Civil Procedure Law, the Supreme Court said such failures constitute sufficient grounds for dismissal of an appeal.
Consequently, the Supreme Court granted the motion to dismiss the respondents’ appeal and ordered the appeal dismissed. The Clerk of the Supreme Court was also instructed to send a mandate to the trial court, directing the presiding judge to resume jurisdiction over the matter and give effect to the Supreme Court’s judgment.
