Skip to main content

Liberia: 'More Than Me' Faces Lawsuit Over Property Ownership Amid Allegation of Rape Cover Up

Katie Meyler


The More Than Me (MTM) charity organization catering to the welfare of girls but accused and under investigation for covering up sexually abuse of teenagers in its care will now face a new lawsuit.
The suit filed against the charity organization is not about the rape scandal, which was recently exposed by a ProPublica investigative report, but an attempt to regain possession of a property the foundation is currently occupying in Monrovia.

Matu Kumba Montgomery, the Plaintiff, is claiming to be the legitimate owner of the building housing the More Than Me Academy on Ashmun Street.
She has again filed an amended court action to evict occupants (MTM) from the building.
Montgomery's original petition before the amended version against the management of the MTM was filed late February 3, 2016.
In that petition, Ms. Montgomery claimed to be the granddaughter of the late Richard Montgomery, who she claims became the owner of the property in 1922.

She said her granddad acquired the property from the late John V. Cooper and during the 1950s and early 1960s, the Department of Justice now the Ministry of Justice, occupied the land based on the consent of her grandfather because of the suitability of the architectural design of the premises.
She claimed that sometimes between 1950 and 1960, Richard Montgomery, being a faculty member of the University of Liberia, allowed the institution to use the building as an administrative building due to the expansion of the University at that time in 1950s.
The Department of Justice occupied the building after the University relocated.

Ms. Montgomery further narrated that following the death of her late mother, Elizabeth Montgomery in 2007, she immediately returned to Liberia from the United States to repossess the property.
She was informed that former Montserrado County Superintendent Grace Kpan and APM Terminals had renovated the building for use by MTM management.
"The petitioner commenced this cause of action against co-respondent More Than Me Foundation, which has refused, failed and neglected to vacate the petitioner's property after several notices served to vacate, by commencement of this summary proceeding the petitioner is seeking court's order to oust, eject and evict More Than Me Foundation, which continues to ignore, injure and violate the petitioner's property," states the writ.
Complainant Montgomery furthered that after her lawyer had rested with the proceeding, the Government of Liberia moved the court to intervene maintaining that it had interest.
Montgomery's latest amended complaint captioned, "Petitioner's Amended Trial Memorandum for Summary Proceedings to Recover Possession of Real Property," was sent to Judge Scheaplor Dunbar of the Civil Law Court "B" at the Temple of Justice.
The petition is also directed against the Management of the More Than Me Foundation by and thru its CEO Kaytie Meyler, Country Director Laura Smith, Mrs. Williams to be identified and all other occupants under their authority as defendants.
According to Montgomery's revised petition filed recently, she alleged that the general principle that the government cannot be required to plea title is a myth and particularly does not apply in this instant case.
The Government of Liberia, thru the Ministry of Justice, is expected to respond to this latest petition upon receipt.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

President George Weah's One Day National Forum Successfully Attended by 26 Political Parties

On Thursday, August 8, 2018, President George Weah had a sit down with 26 political parties of Liberia.  The meeting aimed at advancing ideals that promote the spirit of national unity and political tolerance between opposition political parties and the government.  ANC, LP and UP attended the meeting as a team. According to Deputy Minister Eugene L. Fahngon, Deputy Minister for Press and Public Affairs at Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs & Tourism, all 26 political parties attended and participated from start to finish.  Even though, social media was buzzing about AB Dillion walking out of the meeting, he walked out as an individual and not a political party, "the invitation was extended to political parties and not to individuals," Minister Fahngon stated in his live video.  Each political party gave ideals and recommendations, which made the meeting a great success.  According to  Deputy Minister Fahngon, "there will be future engagements as such.&quo

What President Trump and Kim Jong Un Ate

The historic summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un continued midday Tuesday, as the leaders satisfied their appetites while holding negotiations with a contingent of advisers over a working lunch. The lunch, which followed a 45-minute one-on-one meeting between the leaders earlier in the morning and bilateral discussion with senior aides, was held at the Capella Hotel on Singapore’s Sentosa Island. It was far from an intimate affair, with each leader accompanied by a bevy of senior staff, according to the White House. Joining Trump were Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Chief of Staff John Kelly, National Security Advisor John Bolton, U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and Deputy Assistant to the President for Asian Affairs Matthew Pottinger. Kim was accompanied by Kim Yong Chol , the former spy chief and one of North Korea’s chief negotiators, as well as Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho, former

Snapchat Slammed for Domestic Violence Meme Featuring Rihanna and Chris Brown

If Kylie Jenner ‘s stock-plummeting Snapchat rant didn’t make you delete the app, maybe this will. Over the weekend, Snapchat found itself in hot water after a now-deleted domestic violence meme featuring Rihanna and Chris Brown went viral. The meme, which was an advertisement for the app “Would You Rather,” asked users whether they would prefer to “slap Rihanna” or “punch Chris Brown.” Almost immediately, screenshots of the ad appeared on Twitter, with many criticizing Snapchat for making light of domestic violence. Is it just me, or is this ad that popped up on my Snapchat extremely tone deaf? Like what were they thinking with this? pic.twitter.com/7kP9RHcgNG — Royce Mann (@TheRoyceMann) March 12, 2018 Many considered the ad a mockery of Rihanna’s experience with domestic violence. In 2009, Brown was arrested and charged for physically assaulting his then-girlfriend Rihanna hours before she was to perform at the Grammy awards. Since the incident, Rihanna has spo