Frontline entertainment company and record label, Ericmany Entertainment
has won a N14,000,000 suit filed against it and its act Douglas Jack
Agu (aka Runtown) by the Dynamic Minds League. The suit was for claim of
damages against Ericmany for a ‘no-show’ by Runtown at a carnival in
Anambra State organized by the group in January 2015.
The
case, Suit No LD/ADR/251/2015, was filed on 19th August, 2015 by the
Anambra group through its leader, Mr. Chizuo Anetoh. They dragged
Runtown, Ericmany Entertainment and Prince Okwudili Umenyiora, the
billionaire Chairman of Dilly Motors Limited and Ericmany Entertainment
before the Lagos High Court, claiming the sum of N14 Million as damages
for failure of Runtown to perform at their Harmattan Carnival held at
Adazi-Nnukwu, Anaocha in Anambra State.
Ericmany
lawyers, Chijioke Emeka & Colleagues [Auxano Law] argued that the
group first breached the contract having failed to provide all that was
required and in good time for the artiste to make the appearance.
Ericmany’s case was that the group made inadequate and shoddy
arrangements. Being the Christmas period, Ericmany’s crew had to sort
out late hour flight tickets to Port Harcourt instead of Asaba or Owerri
nearer to the Anaocha venue. Upon landing in Port Harcourt it was late
to proceed on a dangerous night road journey without adequate security,
Ericmany’s lawyer claimed.
During the trial on 10th May,
2018, Mr. Aneto testified for his group. He narrated how Runtown flew
from Lagos to Port Harcourt but refused to further proceed on the road
journey to Adazi, even after they engaged a police escort for him at the
airport. Ericmany’s witness, Amani Henshaw gave an account of the
breaches of the contract by the group, especially its failure to provide
flight tickets for the crew and failure to provide sufficient security
for the night road journey to Anambra State. He told the Court how his
team waited for many hours at the airport until it became very late and
they had to cancel the trip.
In his judgment, Hon.
Justice K. O. Alogba gave victory to Ericmany. The Judge found that the
failure of Runtown to get to Adazi in Anambra State and perform at the
carnival was justified as the group’s arrangement was very shoddy. The
Court agreed with Ericmany that the Dynamic Minds League was reckless
about the contract when it failed to book flight tickets ahead. The
Court also held that the group did not prove how they are entitled to
their N14 Million claim as it did not adduce cogent evidence. Each of
the claims was therefore dismissed.
Justice came the way
of Ericmany Entertainment barely three years after the Dynamic Minds
League flooded the print media, social media and several blogs with news
of the alleged breach of contract and its N14 Million suit against
Ericmany and Runtown.
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