Africa-Press – Liberia. Just weeks after his election as Speaker of the 55th National Legislature, Hon. Richard N. Koon has been summoned by the Sixth Judicial Circuit, Civil Law Court, in Montserrado County to respond to a lawsuit filed by his wife, Angeline Mamie Worloh Koon. The case centers on allegations that the Speaker has failed to account for over US$209,000 in rental income from ten jointly owned apartments.
According to court documents, Madam Koon, who says she has been married to Speaker Koon since 2000, claims the two acquired a joint property in March 2004, located in the Unity Conference Center Community, Hotel Africa Road, Virginia, Montserrado County. She alleges they developed the land into five duplexes containing a total of ten apartments, which they agreed to use as rental properties starting in 2007 to support their family.
However, Madam Koon alleges that her husband, who manages the property, has consistently refused to provide any accounting of the rental income or its use. She estimates that the first year’s revenue (2007) was about US$11,000 but claims she has no knowledge of earnings from the past 19 years.
“The purpose of renting the properties has not been met,” she said in her petition, noting that even before they began living separately, the Speaker failed to account for the rental proceeds and has continued to do so.
Madam Koon also stated that the apartments are not properly maintained, and despite being a joint owner, she is excluded from management decisions, including tenant selection and rent collection.
“He is operating and managing the apartments to the total exclusion of me, as evident by the tenants currently occupying all the apartments without my presence and knowledge,” she stated.
She recounted a 2015 dispute in which the Speaker allegedly told her to ask tenants directly for receipts after she questioned him about rental proceeds. She said she did obtain some receipts at the time but was later barred from further interaction with tenants.
Her petition argues that under the law, a person managing jointly owned property can be compelled to render a full accounting if they deprive the other owner of their financial interest. Quoting Black’s Law Dictionary (10th Edition), she stated that accounting is “a legal action to compel a defendant to account for and pay over money owed to the plaintiff but held by the defendant.”
She is now requesting the court to compel Speaker Koon to account for all proceeds generated from the properties and pay her the portion to which she is legally entitled.
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