A. R. DUODU-SAKYIAMA vs. TEMA DEVELOPMENT. CORPORATION

The appellant, an employee and Traditional Lands Supervisor at Tema Development Corporation (TDC), was offered a 6.19-acre agricultural tenancy by TDC in 1986 under an offer letter proposing a 60-year lease with nominal ground rent. No formal lease was executed. In 1996, the government directed TDC to cede part of the land to the Kpone Traditional Council for residential purposes, including the appellant's land. TDC reentered the land and redesigned 1.10 acres into six residential plots, which were given to the appellant free of charge. The appellant sold five plots and retained one. In 2007, he sued TDC for compensation for the five acres reentered, relying on a 2005 valuation report. The High Court awarded compensation and interest but denied damages. TDC appealed, and the Court of Appeal set aside the High Court judgment, holding the 1.10 acres given was adequate compensation and criticizing the valuation report's credibility.

APPAU, JSC. : The Court of Appeal, on 6th December 2012, upheld an appeal against the judgment of the High Court, Tema dated 24th November 2010. Not satisfied with this decision of the Court of Appeal, the Plaintiff, who won in the trial High Court, has come before us on a further appeal for a reconsideration of his case. I re-call below the facts of the case as gathered from the evidence on record. Facts of the case The Plaintiff/respondent/appellant was an employee of the Tema Development Corporation, which is the Defendant/appellant/respondent herein. For purposes of brevity, he would simply be referred to as the ‘Appellant’ while the Defendant/appellant/respondent would assume the description ‘Respondent’. Somewhere in the middle of 1986, the Appellant, while in the employment of the Respondent, was offered a 6.19 acre land belonging to his employer for farming purposes as an agricultural tenant. The letter that conveyed the offer, which the Appellant described as a le...