LawyersOpinion
Summary Judgment: A Cliche in summary disposal of cases in liquidated claims
Summary judgment is one given in favour of a plaintiff without a plenary trial of the action. The normal steps of filing all necessary pleadings, hearing evidence of witnesses and addresses by counsel thereafter before the court’s judgment...
Introduction
Summary judgment is one given in favour of a plaintiff without a plenary trial of the action. The normal steps of filing all necessary pleadings, hearing evidence of witnesses and addresses by counsel thereafter before the court’s judgment are not followed. The materials on which such is based are the writ of summons, statement of claim and, sometimes the defence, then the plaintiff’s application for judgment by motion or summons with an affidavit in support. There may also be counter-affidavit by the defendant.1 In the case of Abivam Limited v Platon Gas Oil2, the Supreme Court per Benin JSC held:
“The starting point in an application under this Order is for the court to examine the endorsement on the writ, the statement of claim and the affidavit in support of the application and decide whether the plaintiff has made out what is called a prima facie case to entitle him to the court’s decision, even in the absence of defence.”
