Court adjourns N.5m suit against Onitsha lawyer to May 28--------orders plaintiff to serve hearing notice on defendant

www.odogwublog.com reports that an Onitsha Chief Magistrate Court I in Anambra State, presided over
by Chief Magistrate Emma Okonkwo is expected to continue hearing Thursday, May 28,  2015 in a N500,000 suit filed against a legal practitioner based in Onitsha, Charles Chike Ononye, by an Onitsha based businessman, Chief Ntomchukwu Atuchukwu.

The adjournment came as a result of the absence of the defendant, Ononye in court  during last hearing date when the matter was called up and counsel to Atuchukwu, the plaintiff, Akosa Egwuatu informed the court that Ononye was duly served all the legal processes before now.

However Chief Magistrate Okonkwo who suggested that Ononye might not have been served hearing notice that warranted his absence in court, ordered the plaintiff to serve him immediately to enable him be in court on the next adjourned date.

Atuchukwu had dragged Ononye to the court asking him to refund the sum of N500,000 which he (Ononye) collected from him (Atuchukwu) some time ago to give to his client, Okey Onuma as a settlement fee for a land dispute between himself and Onuma but failed to issue him with a written settlement agreement as an acknowledgement for the receipt of the N500,000 first installment settlement fee, as agreed.

In his statement of claims, Atuchukwu told the court that he gave Ononye two different bank cheques amounting to N500,000 as first installment for N1.2 million agreed upon by both himself and Ononye to settle Onuma so that he could hands off the ownership claims of the land, adding that it was when Ononye failed the issue him with a written agreement that he stopped the post-dated cheques he already issued to Ononye for the remaining balance of N700,000.

He further told the court that he bought the land at "33": area of Onitsha from one Emembolu as the rightful owner but as he was developing it, Onuma, through his lawyer, Ononye, sued him to an Onitsha High Court II to restrain him from further trespassing into the land by way of interlocutory injunction, but the then presiding judge of the court, Justice Pete Obiora dismissed the injunction for lack of merit.

He said following the dismissal of Onuma's injunction, he continued with his erection of the fence and shops on the land until Onuma hired some thugs and demolished the structures over night.

He said consequently, he dragged Onuma to Nteje Magistrate Court II presided over by  Chioma Amuluche where he is currently claiming N1 million from Onuma for damages on the disputed land, adding that at a stage, Ononye approached him and advised that he should pay his client, Onuma some amount of money as settlement fee so that Onuma ould leave the land for him.

He said it was based on Ononye's advice that they negotiated and agreed that he should pay Onuma N1.2 million as settlement fee on three installments, adding that it was the first installment of N500,000 he gave to Ononye to remit to his client, Onuma that Ononye failed to issue him with a settlement agreement, hence he now felt he had been defrauded by Ononye and decided to go to court to recover his money.