AMISSAH-ABADOO vs. ABADOO

The plaintiff, the younger brother and customary successor of the late lawyer Abadoo, claimed that house No. G8/2, Tantri Lane, Cape Coast, and a plot of land at Kotokuraba were family property, not the private property of the deceased. The defendant, the lawful widow, counterclaimed that these properties were self-acquired by the deceased and belonged to her and her children. The dispute arose after the deceased's will devised the properties to the widow and children, and the family closed the deceased's private apartments according to custom, which the defendant's son forcibly opened, claiming executor rights. The plaintiff alleged the land at Kotokuraba was family property redeemed by the deceased but not repaid by the previous owners' children. The defendant denied these claims and challenged the plaintiff's capacity to sue regarding the land.

The plaintiff in this action is the younger brother, customary successor and the head of the immediate family of the late lawyer Abadoo of Cape Coast and the defendant is his lawful widow. The controversy between them is about the ownership of house No. G8/2, Tantri Lane, Cape Coast, and a plot of land situate at Kotokuraba also in Cape Coast. The declaration sought by the plaintiff in his capacity as the head of the late Abadoo’s family reads as follows: “A declaration that house No. G8/2, Tantri Lane, Cape Coast, as well as a plot of land at Kotokuraba Road, Cape Coast. are the property of the plaintiff’s family and not the private property of the late barrister D. Myles Abadoo.” The defendant for her part by her counterclaim claims a declaration: “(a) That house No. G8/2, Tantri Lane, Cape Coast, as well as the plot at Kotokuraba Road, Cape Coast, were acquired by the individual effort and individual means of the late barrister Abadoo and as such [are] the self-acq...