Georgiana Ahamefule v. Imperial Medical Center & Dr.

Alex Molokwu (Suit No: ID/1627/2000 Lagos State High Court) Prepared for East Africa Regional Reproductive Rights Litigation Workshop

TIMELINE OF LITIGATION AND OTHER IMPORTANT EVENTS

Overview in numbers: 12+ years elapsed from initiation of suit to judgment 65+ of hearings in total were conducted, ~45 prior to commencement of trial (less than 1/3 of which were attended either by Defendants or their counsel), ~20 from commencement of trial to judgment 4 different High Court judges presided over the matter 2 interlocutory appeals were heard by Court of Appeal 1 perjury suit instituted by DPP against Ds 7+ SERAC lawyers worked on case at various points in time 6+ years elapsed (April 2001 to October 2007) during which Ds never appeared in any court hearings or responded to any court processes Note: Listed below are a selection of the most important court hearings, dates of filing of legal processes, and other significant events. All proceedings are before Lagos State High Court at Ikeja, except where Ct of Appeals is indicated, referring to proceedings before the Lagos State Court of Appeals. Before litigation commenced: Oct. 12 1995 Letter from Dr. Alex Molokwu, Chief Medical Director at Imperial Medical Center (IMC) to Georgiana Ahamefule directing her to take immediate leave of 2 weeks, referring her to University of Lagos Teaching Hospital (LUTH) Oct. 23 1995 Letter from Dr. Molokwu of IMC to Georgiana Ahamefule terminating her appointment due to fear that her health/status may compromise the entire hospital and patients Nov. 14 1999 Letter of Reference from Dr. Molokwu of IMC enthusiastically recommending Georgiana Ahamefule for employment at another medical facility without any reservations Jan. 17 2000 Georgiana Ahamefule writes letter to SERAC requesting legal representation Litigation Part One: INITIATION OF SUIT & FEAR OF HIV IN THE COURTROOM (2000-2001) Jul. 14 2000 SERAC filed Writ of Summons & Statement of Claim Jan. 9 2001 Ds filed Statement of Defense

Jan. 22 2001 SERAC filed Mtn for Expedited Hearing due to Georgiana Ahamefules declining health, Ct asked SERAC not to bring Georgiana Ahamefule to court for fear that her HIV may infect others in the courtroom Feb. 5 2001 SERACs Mtn for Expedited Hearing moved and denied; Ct rules that expert evidence must be provided to prove that presence of Georgiana Ahamefule in courtroom/witness box will not lead to infection of others in courtroom (in response to oral mtn from D) Mar. 13 2001 SERAC files appeal against denial of Mtn for Expedited Hearing before Ct of Appeals Mar. 26 2001 Ct summoned two journalists to testify about public statements made by SERACs ED, Felix Morka regarding case; Ct orders Felix Morka to be present in court on April 5, 2001 to explain public statements Apr. 5 2001 Ct strikes out suit because of undue publicity, (leaving SERAC with option to relist before another judge) [Justice Olufawo retired] Litigation Part Two: DEFENDANTS REFUSED TO APPEAR/RESPOND (2001-2007) Apr. 24 2001 SERAC filed Mtn on Notice for Relisting of Case [Intervening period: SERAC writes several letters to Chief Judge of Lagos State notifying his office that the case has still not been re-listed, case file appears to have been misplaced by Ct after Justice Olufawo retired] Jan. 30 2005 Case file finally relocated; SERACs 2001 Mtn for Relisting heard by Justice Oshodi, but not ruled on b/c Ds not present [Intervening period: SERAC writes several letters to Ds notifying them of hearing dates, but Ct rarely sits and Ds never respond or appear in Ct] Nov. 6 2006 SERAC files Form 17 (hearing notice for pre-trial conference) & 18 (pre-trial information sheet) Dec. 5 2006 SERAC files answers to questions in Form 18 Jan. 29 2007 Matter fixed for hearing on Form 17 & 18, but Ct did not sit due to public holiday declared by federal govt to enable Nigerians to register for elections Feb. 27 2007 Ds not present or represented; Form 17 & 18 could not be heard as Mtn on Notice for Relisting dated Nov. 24 2004 had not been heard Mar. 22 2007 Ct did not sit b/c of administrative staff on strike Apr. 30 2007 Ds not present or represented; Mtn on Notice for Relisting dated Nov. 24 2004 struck out by Ct b/c Affidavit in Support not deposed to before Commissioner of Oaths May 7 2007 -- SERAC files Mtn for Relisting Case May 9 2007 Mtn for Relisting dated May 7 2007 fixed for hearing on May 28 2007 [Intervening hearings: May 28 2007 (Ct did not sit due to public holiday), Jun. 19 2007 (Ds not present or represented therefore Mtn for Relisting dated May 7 2007 could not be heard; Ct directs SERAC to write Ds and file further proof of service) Jul. 3 2007 Ds not present or represented; SERACs Mtn for Relisting dated May 7 2007 granted (adj. for pre-trial conference (PTC) to commence on Oct. 5 2007) Litigation Part Three: PRE-TRIAL CONFERENCES (2007-2009) Oct. 5 2007 Ds represented; PTC commences, Ct observed that Ds have not front-loaded processes in accordance with 2004 Rules of Procedure, adjourns to enable Ds to regularize their position 2

Nov. 2 2007 Ds file Mtn on Notice to Appeal Against July 3 2007 Ruling Granting Relisting of Case and Mtn for Stay of Proceeding Pending Appeal Nov. 7 2007 PTC continues, Ds Mtn for Stay of Proceeding Pending Appeal fixed for hearing on Dec. 5 2007 Nov. 20 2007 SERAC files Counter Affidavit in response to Ds Mtn for Stay of Proceeding Pending Appeal of Nov. 2 2007 Dec. 5 2007 PTC continues, Ps Mtn for Extension of Time to file Counter Affidavit in response to Ds Mtn for Stay of Proceedings Pending Appeal was moved and granted (adj. to Dec. 14 2007 for hearing of Ds Mtn) Dec 14 2007 Ct sets aside order made on Jul. 3 2007 granting Ps Mtn to Relist; Ct requests that SERAC file new Mtn for Extension of Time to Relist and Forms 17 & 18; Ds counsel sought court order to set aside ruling of Jul. 3 2007 in favor of SERACs Mtn for Relisting Mar. 12 2008 SERAC files new Forms 17 & 18 Apr. 4 2008 Ds file Mtn for Extension of Time, responses to Form 18, and Counter Affidavit to SERACs Forms 17 & 18 filed on March 12 2008 May 17 2008 Ct observed that matter has not been relisted Jun. 26 2008 SERACs Mtn for Extension of Time moved and granted, SERAC to file new Form 17 & 18 Sept. 25 2008 Ct of Appeals struck out Ds Mtn for Stay of Proceedings Pending Appeal dated Nov. 2 2007 for want of diligent prosecution b/c Ds not present [Imperial Medical Centre & Anor. v. Georgiana Ahamefule (CA/L/788m/2007)]; award of N10,000 granted to Georgiana Ahamefule Nov. 17 2008 Ct struck out Ds Mtn for Stay of Proceedings Pending Appeal dated Nov. 2 2007 [Intervening hearings: Dec. 17 2008 (Ct did not sit due to strike), Feb. 23 2009 (Ds not present or represented therefore pre-trial conference could not commence), Mar. 30 2009 (Ds not present or represented therefore pre-trial conference could not commence)] Apr. 22 2009 Ds file Mtn on Notice with Affidavit in Support alleging that Georgiana Ahamefule died in her hometown, and therefore the case should be struck out for want of jurisdiction Apr. 29 2009 SERAC sent letter to Commissioner of Police requesting the investigation and prosecution of Mr. Shamsudeen Aileru for perjury May 26 2009 Ds filed Witness Statement on Oath of Dr. Alex Molokwu explaining Georgiana Ahamefules dismissal as necessary for the safety of others in the hospital May 27 2009 Ds represented, SERAC files Witness Statement on Oath of Georgiana Ahamefule; Mtn on Notice dated Apr. 22 2009 withdrawn and struck out Jun. 15 2009 Ds represented, 2nd D proposed payment of N100,000 for settlement of suit, Georgiana refuses offer of settlement; Ct directed that pre-trial has ended and report should be prepared and file returned to administrative judge for re-assignment to another judge for trial; Mtn dated Apr. 22 2009 of D withdrawn Litigation Part Four: TRIAL (2009-2012) [case assigned to Justice Alogba] Oct. 5 2009 Ds not present or represented therefore could not proceed Nov. 2 2009 Ct did not sit (b/c judge travelled to Mecca) Jan. 25 2010 Ct sat but never called case due to overcrowded docket Mar. 1 2010 Ds not represented, matter set for trial on Apr. 21-22, 2010 [Justice Alogba transferred to Lagos Division of High Court, case reassigned to Justice Idowu] 3

May 27, 2010 TRIAL COMMENCED with examination in chief of SERACs first witness (Georgiana Ahamefule), cross-x by Ds counsel, and re-examination by SERAC [Intervening hearings: Jun. 24 2010 (Ct did not sit), Jul. 14 2010 (Ct did not sit), Oct. 7 2010 (Ds not represented, therefore trial could not proceed), Dec. 8 2010 (Ct did not sit b/c judge indisposed) Feb. 2 2011 SERAC informed Ct of death of their expert witness (Dr. Dede, hematology specialist of Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LSUTH)), therefore trial could not proceed Mar. 8 2011 SERAC files Additional Witness Statement on Oath of Dr. Oluwatosin Ibukun Adeyemi, a hematology specialist at LSUTH, explaining the limited ways in which HIV/AIDS can be transmitted Mar. 16 2011 Ct did not sit Apr. 7 2011 SERACs Mtn for Leave to Call Additional Witness (Dr. Oluwatosin Ibukun Adeyemi) moved and granted May 11, 2011 Trial could not continue due to absence of SERACs expert witness (Dr. Oluwatosin Ibukun Adeyemi changed his mind, decided he would not testify in court against fellow doctor) [Intervening hearings: Jun. 29 2011 (Ct did not sit), Oct. 26 2011 (Ds not present or represented; Ct threatened to strike out case if SERACs expert witness didnt appear at next hearing), Nov. 17 2011 (Ct did not sit (b/c judge indisposed))] Jan. 19 2012 Ds not present or represented; Ct denied SERACs request for adjournment to enable continued search for new expert witness and instead closed SERACs case in chief [Intervening hearings: Feb. 15 2012 (Ds filed Amended Statement of Defense), Feb. 16 2012 (Ct did not sit)] Mar. 12 2012 Ds opened their case with direct examination of Dr. Molokwu, cross-x by SERAC, and redirect by Ds (through cross-x Dr. Molokwu testified to the limited modes of transmission of HIV) [Intervening hearings: Apr. 4, 2012 (Claimant filed Final Written Address), Apr. 12, 2012 (Ds filed Final Written Address), May 4 2012 (SERAC filed Claimants Final Written Address), May 15 2012 (Ds filed Reply Address to Claimants Final Written Address), Jun. 7 2012 (Ct did not sit (judge at meeting with Lagos State House of Assembly)), Jun. 20 2012 (Ds adopted their Final Written Address), Jul. 13 2012 (judgment not ready)] Sept. 27 2012 JUDGMENT DELIVERED (declaring termination of employment unlawful, unconsented HIV testing constitutes battery, failure to provide counseling services constitutes negligence of professional duty, denying medical care based on HIV status is violation of right to health, and awarding 5 million general damages for wrongful employment and 2 million compensation for unconsented HIV testing) Litigation Part Five: APPEAL(2012-present) Oct. 15 2012 Ds filed Mtn of Notice for Stay of Execution of Judgment and Notice of Appeal before High Ct Oct. 19, 2012 SERAC filed Counter Affidavit Nov. 13 2012 Ds asked for extension of time to file response to SERACs Counter Affidavit Nov. 29 2012 Ds withdrew Notice of Appeal filed in High Ct Jan. 11 2013 Ds filed Notice of Appeal in Ct of Appeals (primarily jurisdictional grounds) Jan. 17 2013 SERAC filed Counter Affidavit in response to Ds Notice of Appeal in Ct of Appeals [SERAC is presently awaiting notice of hearing date in Ct of Appeals] 4