OPPONG BANAHENE vs. SHELL GHANA LIMITED

The Plaintiff, Oppong Banahene, entered a one-year haulage agreement with the Defendant, Shell Ghana Limited, in 1996 to transport petroleum products from Tema Oil Refinery to Sonitra at Yawkwei. After the agreement expired, the parties continued business without formal renewal until 1998 when Shell introduced a Fleet Rationalisation Scheme (FRS) requiring operators with fewer than ten vehicles to operate under larger companies. The Plaintiff's two trucks were placed under Benko Ltd., a larger company, and payments were made through Benko Ltd. rather than directly. In 2003-2004, six consignments loaded onto the Plaintiff's Mercedes Benz truck were diverted and not delivered to the consignee. Only one delivery note was signed by the Plaintiff's driver. Shell deducted the cost of the diverted consignments from the Plaintiff's earnings via Benko Ltd. The Plaintiff disputed liability for the five consignments not signed for by his driver and sued for an account and refund of excess deductions.

This is an appeal from the unanimous decision of the Court of Appeal dated the 19th day of January, 2012. Oppong Banahene, the Plaintiff/Appellant/Appellant is hereinafter referred to as the Plaintiff and Shell (Ghana) Ltd. which is the Defendant/Respondent/Respondent is hereinafter referred to as the Defendant. THE FACTS The Plaintiff entered into a written haulage agreement with the Defendant on the 13th day of May 1996. The agreement, however, was said to have commenced on the 1st day of January, 1996 and was scheduled to terminate on 31st December, 1996; it was for one year certain. Under the agreement, the Plaintiff was to transport petroleum products belonging to the Defendant from Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) to their customer called Sonitra at Yawkwei, near Konongo on the Accra-Kumasi Road. A copy of that agreement was put in evidence as exhibit A. The haulage relationship between the parties continued without a formal renewal after the one year duration. In short, the parties co...