A court in the United States of America has decided to revisit the default judgement it entered against a Nigerian lawyer, Emeka Ugwuonye, in his $1.5 fee dispute with the Embassy of Nigeria in Washington.

The decision followed an e-mail from Mr. Ugwuonye, in which he complained that the judgement was entered against him even when he was unavailable to defend himself.

The US-based Ugwuonye, who has been in Nigeria for some time now, had told the court in a June 10 e-mail:

“I have had virtually no access to the court nor the ability to participate in the proceedings of this court for some time now. Also, my access to pacer has been particularly cut. I don’t know why. But even at that, it has been a hallowing experience trying to access pacer from Nigeria.” (Pacer is the online access channel through which American lawyers file documents in US courts.)

Ugwuonye’s mail to the court further stated thus: “From some bloggers sponsored by the Nigerian Embassy, I have learned vaguely about various orders this court has entered against me. On the basis of these orders, the Embassy-sponsored bloggers have been describing me as having being found guilty of stealing by this court and calling me a convicted felon. I am not fully in position to know what those orders are exactly. All I can say now is that it would be most unjust for this court to allow the plaintiff to hold the defendant in Nigeria and deny him access to court, while at the same time defaulting the defendant.”

After analyzing Ugwuonye’s complaint, the court converted the mail into two motions – an opposition to Embassy’s motion for default judgment and a motion to reconsider any order made against Ugwuonye. The court went further to order the Embassy to respond to Ugwuonye’s constructive motions. In the order made by the court on June 14, the court ruled thus:

“ORDER re [141] Letter: The Court shall consider this correspondence to comprise Defendant Ugwuonye’s opposition to Plaintiff’s [139] Motion for Default Judgment, as well as representing a motion for reconsideration of this Court’s entry of default against Defendant Ugwuonye. Plaintiff shall file its reply in support of its motion for default judgment and its opposition to Mr. Ugwuonye’s motion for reconsideration no later than June 24, 2013. See Order for further details. Signed by Judge Barbara Jacobs Rothstein on 6/14/2013. (lcbjr1)”

Contacted by News Express, Ugwuonye expressed satisfaction with the court’s decision. “This is just the first step towards getting the unjust default judgment given about three weeks ago vacated so as to let the case proceed on the merits,” he said.

•Photo shows Ugwuonye.

Update news