A haulage firm, Transnational Haulage Limited has asked a Lagos State High Court sitting at Osborne Ikoyi to refuse an unconditional stay of execution filed by Lafarge Africa Plc over its refusal to pay the haulage firm a judgment sum of N58,756,500 for loss of freight earnings on 10 trucks and simple interest on the said sum at the rate 12per cent per annum from the day of the award until full payment.
The Arbitral Tribunal had on November 4, 2019, awarded the said sum in favour of Transnational Haulage Ltd against Lafarge Africa Plc, after services rendered to the Cement transport services agreement dated August 15, 2016.
Dissatisfied with the decision of the arbitral tribunal, in suit No LD/3732GCM/2019, delivered by the sole arbitrator, Mrs Funmi Roberts, the award debtor/applicant (Lafarge Africa) dragged the firm to a Lagos State High Court, wherein a judgment was also delivered on October 27, 2022, and the court upheld the decision of the arbitral tribunal.
But dissatisfied with the judgment of October 27, 2022, delivered by Justice Taofekat Oyekan-Abdulahi, the award debtor/applicant filed a motion on notice of appeal asking the court to stay execution in the judgment pending the hearing and determination of the appeal lodged at the Court of Appeal.
The award debtor/applicant, in an affidavit in support of the motion on notice through its lawyer, Tinuade Abimbola-Ekundayo, stated that the applicant’s appeal will be rendered nugatory if the application is not granted.
In a counter affidavit by the award creditor/respondent through its lawyer, Bodunrin Adewole, said the notice of appeal filed by the award debtor/applicant is completely frivolous and its only aim and intention is to deprive the award creditor/respondent the fruits of the arbitral award being the outcome of the arbitration proceedings which the award debtor/applicant, submitted to and voluntarily participated in before the arbitral tribunal.
Adewole said the rights of the award creditor/respondent will be severely prejudiced if it is further denied the fruits of the said final award as justice delayed is justice denied.
In a written address in support of the counter affidavit, the award creditor/respondent stated that the sole issue for determination is whether or not the award debtor/applicant is entitled to an unconditional order for a stay of execution.
In his argument, Adewole submitted that it is trite law that a ruling or judgment of a lower court is valid until set aside on an appeal and that a notice of appeal does not operate as a stay of execution.
He further stated that the notice of appeal attached to the award debtor/applicant’s affidavit in support containing the grounds of appeal and their particulars is misleading, incompetent, and completely lacking in merit as there is no basis in law for the said notice of appeal.
The respondent’s lawyer, however, urged the court to refuse the applicant’s unconditional stay of execution and order the award debtor/applicant to pay the award sum of N58,756,500 and simple interest on the said sum at the rate of 12 per cent per annum, from November 4, 2019, into an interest-yielding account within seven days in a reputable commercial bank in the joint names of the parties as a condition precedent to the prosecution or further prosecution of the said appeal.
