SUING THROUGH AN ATTORNEY IN TENANCY MATTERS IN IMO STATE: FROM PRACTICE TO PRINCIPLE

Abstract

The practice of a landlord suing through an Attorney in actions for recovery of
premises has become a constant over time, such that the legal status and effects
of actions initiated by this procedure are rarely considered and consequently,
misconceived both by jurists and advocates. A recent incident stirred up the
examination of this topic by the Researcher. A Magistrate Court in Owerri, Imo
State, declared an action filed in the personal capacity of the Landlord
incompetent for failure of the Landlord to grant a written Power of Attorney
to his Caretaker/Manager to represent him in the suit albeit, the Caretaker was
only called as a witness and not an Attorney. A doctrinal research approach
was adopted, with adequate reliance placed on the relevant primary and
secondary sources. It was discovered that due to the long practice of instituting
tenancy matters through an Attorney, some courts have made it a sine qua non
to the validity of such actions and have inadvertently dismissed suits not
brought through an Attorney. It was recommended amongst others that suits
by proxy and the circumstances, conditions and modalities for filing them
should be enshrined in the Tenancy Law of the State as well as the Magistrates
Court Rules as it is obtainable at the High Court, Federal High Court and the
National Industrial Courts to reduce the confusion and controversy
surrounding this mode of commencing an action.