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The Mutual Benefits Assurance Company has filed civil and criminal lawsuits against Bea Mountain Mining Corporation here, accusing it of malicious prosecution and abuse of judicial process.
The dispute arises from a previously settled arbitration case involving International Construction Engineering (ICE), for whom Mutual had issued performance bonds.
In 2017, an international arbitration awarded Bea Mountain $6.67 million in a counterclaim against ICE. This award was confirmed by a U.S. federal court in 2018, effectively closing the matter under international law.
However, Bea Mountain allegedly reopened the same claim in Liberia in 2021, prompting Mutual to take legal action. Mutual argues that the new lawsuit is a duplicate case intended to harass and damage its reputation, despite not being a party to the original arbitration.
The Assurance Company’s legal response includes civil suit for malicious prosecution and damages, a petition for a Prohibition to stop the Liberian proceedings, and a criminal complaint alleging fraudulent litigation and economic sabotage.
The case raises broader concerns about Liberia’s enforcement of international arbitration awards and the potential misuse of its legal system in corporate disputes.
This net award was subsequently reduced to judgment in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria Division, under the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards on April 18, 2018, by Magistrate Judge Michael S. Nachmanoff, United States Magistrate Judge who noted that the ICE had assets in the jurisdiction to satisfy the judgment.
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The release further stated that the judgment brought finality to this claim. Three years later, Bea Mountain concealed these facts and instituted another legal action on the same award in Liberia. Mutual, therefore, asserts that any attempt to recover the same amount in Liberia constitutes duplicative litigation, legal harassment, and abuse of judicial process.
“Bea Mountain’s persistence in pursuing a claim that has already been resolved by a competent arbitral tribunal and enforced by a U.S. federal court is unjustified and malicious,” said Cllr. Aloysius T. Jappah, the legal counsel for Mutual said. “This is a textbook case of malicious prosecution, designed to inflict commercial harm and public embarrassment on a licensed insurer who was not even a party to arbitral proceedings in London.” The release was added.
Mutual emphasized that it remains committed to the rule of law, the sanctity of arbitral decisions, and the integrity of Liberia’s financial system. While the company honors all valid obligations, it will vigorously defend itself against attempts to weaponize the legal system to secure unjust enrichment.
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