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Passing-off: Firm demands payment of N100m from Ifeanyi Ubah

A limited liability company, Capital Oil Plc, is demanding a sum of N100 million from the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Capital Oil and Gas Industries Limited, Dr. Ifeanyi Ubah, over alleged passing-off.

Capital Oil Plc had slammed a N1 billion suit on Ubah and his company, Capital Oil and Gas Industries Limited, over an alleged unlawful use of its name, “Capital Oil”, as part of its company’s name.

The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) was joined as co-defendant in the suit.

In it, the firm claimed that despite repeated pleas and warnings by it, coupled with a directive from the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), the defendants did not desist from using the name.

In a statement of claim filed before a Federal High Court in Lagos by its lawyer, Chioma Okwuanyi, Capital Oil Plc stated that it became aware of the existence of Capital Oil and Gas industries Ltd when correspondences meant for the company were delivered to it and upon inquiry, it was discovered that the company engages in the business of dealing in petroleum products which is the same line of its business.

The plaintiff (Capital Oil) said it later notified the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) of the error in registering Capital Oil and Gas industries Ltd. Thereafter CAC directed the company to change its name within six weeks, but the defendant refused to do so.

The disagreement later resulted into litigation with Capital Oil Plc dragging Ubah and his company to court.

However, the suit was later settled by a term of settlement filed before the court and entered as consent judgement, whereby Ubah and his company agreed to pay and indeed paid N100 million to the plaintiff to remove Capital from its name.

However the money was returned when it was discovered that the Board of Directors of Capital Oil Plc was not carried along in the purported settlement which the company accepted.

Thereafter, Ubah’s company sought the order of court to enforce the consent judgement. It however lost out as the presiding Judge, Okechukwu Okeke, after a review of the facts of the case absolved the plaintiff (Capital Oil Plc) of any breach of the consent judgement.

The defendants (Ubah and his company) were said to have later agreed to pay the plaintiff the sum of N230 million as settlement, but the defendants refused to make any payment.

Owing to the failure of Ubah and his company, the plaintiff filed another suit at the Federal High Court in Lagos seeking to recover the money and also restrain Ubah from using the name “Capital Oil”.

However, delivering judgement in the suit, the presiding Judge, Mohammed Idris, held that the earlier consent judgement wherein Ubah and his company agreed to pay N100 million as settlement is still subsisting.

Dissatisfied, Capital Oil Plc lodged an appeal at the Appellate Court against the ruling of the lower court.

However, in a judgement delivered last year, the Appellate Court upheld the lower court ruling.

Upon the delivery of the judgement of Court of Appeal, Capital Oil Plc instructed its lawyers to write a letter to Ubah and his company demanding the payment of the N100 million judgement sum.

However, it was alleged that Ubah and his company are yet to pay any part of the judgement debt till date.

TheStar