C.F.C. CONSTRUCTION COMPANY LTD. vs. GHANA NATIONAL CONSTRUCTION CORPORATION AND ANOTHER

The plaintiff company sued to recover £G10,227 from the defendant corporation, being retention money originally due to Ghana Presec Ltd under a government housing construction contract and allegedly validly assigned to the plaintiff. Ghana Presec Ltd had subcontracted joinery works to the plaintiff and became indebted to the plaintiff in the sum of £G11,247 4s. 5d. Judgment had earlier been obtained by the plaintiff against Presec. After failed garnishee attempts against monies due to Presec, Presec, by letter dated 16 May 1962, notified the Division of Public Construction that £G10,277 of its retention money should be paid to the plaintiff when due. Presec was later wound up, and on 4 October 1962 part of the retention money (£G6,627) was paid by the defendant to Presec’s liquidator. The plaintiff contended that the retention money had already been absolutely assigned to it and that payment to the liquidator was wrongful. Portion of judgment: opening paragraphs beginning “In this action, the plaintiff company are claiming…” through the narration ending “This payment to the liquidator of Presec Limited, is, so to speak, the casus belli of this litigation.”

JUDGMENT OF APALOO J.S.C. In this action, the plaintiff company are claiming from the defendant corporation the sum of £G10,227 which the plaintiffs say is due to Ghana Presec Limited from the defendants and which sum the plaintiffs claim has been validly assigned to them by Presec Limited. Before dealing with the extensive and somewhat difficult points of law canvassed in this case, it is, I think necessary, to relate the facts which are substantially not in dispute. A company known as the Ghana Presec Limited was on 12 May 1960 awarded a contract by the Division of Public Construction to execute and complete the construction of 85 houses and ancillary works for the government at Osu. The contract documents were tendered in evidence and as is often the case with government contracts, are very voluminous indeed. The contract sum according to the contract documents is £G202,809 16s. 9d. Although there is no direct evidence of it, an affidavit sworn to by a Mr. Eric John Elliot of .....