[1992]DLCA2028 • May 7, 1992 • Court of Appeal
HEWARD-MILLS vs. HEWARD-MILLS
The plaintiff and defendants are children of the late Albert Gillies Heward-Mills, who died in 1964 leaving a will and codicil admitted to probate. The plaintiff, about 27 years after the death, filed an affidavit alleging that the signatures on the will and codicil were forged, supported by forensic tests, and sought to revoke the grant of probate. The plaintiff issued a citation to recall the probate and commenced an action against the defendants, who are beneficiaries but not executors of the will. The defendants challenged the competence of the action and raised issues of delay and procedural non-compliance.
read moreJUDGMENT OF ADJABENG J.A. The fundamental issue which this court ought to determine in this appeal, in my view, is the issue whether or not the plaintiff ‘s action was competent or properly before the trial court. It is the contention of the defendant-appellants that the trial court failed to tackle this issue because the court failed to appreciate the legal grounds upon which the appellants’ application in the court below was based. Also, that this lack of appreciation made the trial judge to allow herself to be influenced by matters not pertinent to the issues argued before the court, and thus rendered the decision of the court unsupportable in law. The facts of this case are that the plaintiff, the first and second defendants are all children of the late Albert Gillies Heward-Mills, Barrister-at-Law, of James Town, Accra. The third defendant is the executor of the will of the late J.N. Heward-Mills, also a child of the said Albert Gillies Heward-Mills (deceased). The said Albe...