[2017]DLSC2672 • October 25, 2017 • Supreme Court •
AMARKAI AMARTEIFIO vs. ANANG SOWAH
The plaintiff, a lawyer, lent £15,000 to the defendant, a businessman, in 1992 for vessel repairs with a promise of repayment within three months, which remained unpaid. Additionally, the plaintiff claimed unpaid legal fees for services rendered between 1991 and 1994. The defendant failed to respond to the writ of summons served by substituted service, leading to default judgments. Subsequent motions to set aside the judgments were filed by the defendant, with procedural complications and multiple applications over nearly two decades.
read morePWAMANG, JSC:- This appeal lies from the decision of the Court of Appeal delivered on the 4th of June 2009 which upturned the decision of the High Court for the reason that it glossed over two serious legal questions namely; whether or not the action was determinable within the purview of the Legal Profession Act 1960, (Act 32) and whether the writ of summons in the case was valid at the time it was served. The appeal has suffered delay in this court for various reasons including the retirement of Akamba JSC who had participated actively in the hearing and consideration of the case but the judgment could not be delivered before his retirement, necessitating his replacement by Benin JSC and a rehearing. It is relieving that judgment is being delivered today. FACTS The parties in this appeal, from all indications, were great friends who had money transactions between them. However this great friendship has given way to rancor and ill feelings and not least is this spiral of litigat...