JUDGMENT
ADDO J.A.:
My Lords, this is an
appeal against the decision of B.O. Tetteh J. Chairman
of the Regional Tribunal sitting as additional Circuit
Judge. The plaintiff in this case, Comfort Barnor has
brought this action against the defendants jointly and
severally for general damages for trespass ¢1,000,000.00
(One Million Cedis) being cost of materials damaged and
perpetual injunction. The plaintiff by her statement of
claim states that she is the incumbent head of the
Lartey-Cudjoe family Osu. She says the land the
subject-matter was acquired by her maternal grandfather,
Lartey-Cudjoe in 1938. According to her the transaction
was covered by a written memorandum dated 21st March,
1938 by which the original owner transferred title to
the said Lartey-Cudjoe. She went on to state that the
house thereon was at the time of the said transaction
numbered F5/12, Osu Accra and subsequently changed to
read F5/1 Animansah Osu-Accra. Plaintiff’s case is that
her said grandfather, Lartey-Cudjoe continued to remain
in uninterrupted possession till his demise. Further, as
successor to Lartey-Cudjoe they have remained in
uninterrupted possession. That with the consent of the
said Lartey-Cudjoe family, she in or about December 1990
commenced a building project on the part of the land,
the subject of dispute, which project had advanced to
lintel level.
She says in the first
quarter of 1992 the defendants purporting to be either
members or supporters of an Odai Quao family without any
justification destroyed her building project
extensively. She said the damage done was at the time
¢850,000.00 (Eight Hundred and Fifty Thousand Cedis) in
value. She currently requires about ¢1,000,000.00 (One
Million Cedis) to make good the required damage. She
says upon her complaint to the Police the Police
arrested the defendants and arraigned them before the
circuit court on 1st day of September 1993, convicted
them and cautioned and discharged them. The gravamen of
the defendant defence is that they had justification for
destroying the plaintiff’s structure on the grounds that
the same was being unlawfully put up on the Odoi Quao
family land; defendant further counter claimed for
declaration of title.
On the totality of the
evidence adduced before the trial court, the trial court
found that the land subject-matter of this dispute
belongs to Lartey-Cudjoe and not the Odoi Quao family
and therefore this finding destroys the basis of the
defendants counterclaims.
From this, the
defendants have appealed to this court asking us to
reverse the decision and find for them. The Appellant
filed only one ground of appeal namely that “the
judgment is grossly and profoundly unreasonable and it
is further legally unwarrantable at all having regard to
the evidence.”
I must say that I have
gone through the evidence and I find the conclusions
arrived at by the trial court very sound and apposite
and cannot in any way impeach the conclusions arrived at
by the court. I find this Appeal without merit and I
consequently dismiss it.
(SGD)
E. A. ADDO. J.A.
I agree
Farkye J. A.
FARKYE J. A.
I also agree
Quaye J. A.
QUAYE J. A.
COUNSEL
R. A. OKARTEI – AKKO
FOR APPELLANTS
SAMMY AGBODO FOR
RESPONDENTS |