How the Courts Work
Nigerian high courts, generally allow a Claimant to withdraw or discontinue their entire case or part of it against the opposing party.
The result of this withdrawal could be that the Court merely strikes out the case, such that the Claimant is able to bring the same case back to Court at a later date or it could be a dismissal, such that the Claimant is completely unable to re-institute the action against that Defendant.
In the High Court of Lagos State, when a Claimant applies to withdraw or discontinue its case, whether the case will be struck out or dismissed it depends on the stage at which the Claimant applies to do so and the steps the Claimant has taken.
By Order 25 of the High Court of Lagos State Civil Procedure Rules 2019 (the Rules), a Claimant can easily withdraw their case before the Defendant files its defence and simply pay any costs of the case.
Where a Defendant has filed their defence, however, the Claimant requires the permission of the court to withdraw or discontinue the case and this should be done before the Claimant takes further steps in the case otherwise the consequence could be dismissal.
Furthermore, where trial has commenced, the Claimant requires the leave of the court to withdraw its case and the Court may exercise its discretion to strike out or dismiss the case.
Facts of the Matter
These principles found expression in the case of LD/10060GCMW/2023: MISS IMAOBONG UYE V. META PLATFORMS INC AND FACEBOOK NIGERIA OPERATIONS LIMITED where the High Court dismissed the Claimant’s case against Facebook Nigeria Operations Limited after she applied to withdraw her case.
In that case, the Claimant Miss Imaobong Uye (Uye) sued Meta Platforms Inc (Meta) and Facebook Nigeria Operations Limited (Facebook Nigeria), as Defendants in the High Court of Lagos State, seeking joint reliefs against them.
Uye claimed that she had invested her lifesavings of N10,000 (Ten Thousand Naira) in a third party investment company whose advert she had seen on the social media platform “Facebook”, which she claimed was provided by the Defendants and that she had lost her investment. She claimed that the Defendants owed her a fiduciary duty of care on the basis of which she asked the court to award her the total sum of N7,010,000 (Seven Million and Ten Thousand Naira) for breach of contract, special damages and her cost of instituting the action.
While Meta was yet to be served, Uye served Facebook Nigeria with the court papers. Facebook Nigeria, through its solicitors, Messrs. Sofia Legal, filed its Statement of Defence as well as a preliminary objection to the suit. In its vigorous defence, Facebook Nigeria’s position was that it was not the host, controller or operator of the ‘Facebook” platform in Nigeria or anywhere else and was not responsible for any advertisement placed thereon.
In its preliminary objection, Facebook Nigeria contended that Uye’s case did not disclose a reasonable cause of action.
After Uye was served with Facebook’s court papers, she filed a counteraffidavit to Facebook Nigeria’s objection. Before the arguments on the objection, she re-apprised her position and hurriedly applied to the court to grant her leave to withdraw her case from court against both Defendants. Facebook Nigeria did not file a written response to her application.
What the Court Decided
On 10th October, 2024 when the case came up before the honourable Justice A. Ipaye of the High Court of Lagos State, Uye asked the court to grant her leave to withdraw her case. Mobisola Odimegwu, representing Facebook Nigeria, however urged the court, on points of law, to dismiss the suit rather than strike it out because Facebook had joined issues with Uye by filing a defence as well as a Notice of Preliminary Objection and that very importantly, Uye had taken the step of filing a counteraffidavit to Facebook’s objection before attempting to withdraw the suit. Counsel submitted that the avaricious nature of the Claimant’s case warranted a dismissal by the court. The Court agreed with her submission and dismissed the Claimant’s case.
Takeaways:
1. A careful analysis of the strengths and challenges of one’s case is critical before commencing an action. Your lawyer’s in-depth opinion could help you decide whether to pursue your case – if any – and the most effective means of resolution.
2. Litigation in Nigeria is heavily procedural. Deep knowledge of the rules of court and expert application of this knowledge are important.
3. The courts are not a venue for pursuing avaricious claims.
The Firm of Sofia Legal, led by Mobisola Odimegwu (Mrs.), represented Facebook Nigeria Operations Limited in this case.
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