KWABENA BOATENG vs. MELBOND MICROFINANCE COMPANY LTD.

The plaintiff, a businessman dealing in musical instruments at Zongo Lane, Accra, obtained a loan of GH¢30,000 from the defendant microfinance company in December 2014, secured by his operating stock, household movables, and immovable property at Amasaman. He later defaulted in repayment. He sued the defendant complaining that the defendant unlawfully locked up his shop, ransacked it, carried away his merchandise, and unilaterally took over his houses without court order, and also alleged that the defendant charged unconscionable interest. The court found that the plaintiff had indeed defaulted, that the loan agreement authorized possession of secured assets upon default, but that the defendant wrongfully locked the plaintiff out of his shop and unlawfully realized the security without proper notice and accounting. Portion of judgment: “the plaintiff alleges that the defendant locked out the plaintiff’s business…”, “the defendant caused the operating stock of the plaintiff to be evacuated from the plaintiff’s shop”, and “the plaintiff has alleged that the defendant deliberately hid the rate of interest… and charged an unconscionable rate of interest.”

By a writ of summons issued on the 11th November 2016, the plaintiff claims against the defendant company. a. An order declaring that the act of the defendant in locking out plaintiff and ransacking his shop and carrying away his merchandise without any court order is unlawful and an affront to Plaintiff’s right to due process. b. A declaration that the unilateral takeover of Plaintiff’s houses without recourse to the courts is unlawful, void and of no effect. c. An order directed against the defendants to pay for the merchandise they carried from plaintiff shop and had kept all this while. d. An order directed against the defendant to pay for the sales of the one week that defendants locked out plaintiff and prevented him from working. e. An order declaring defendant’s acts as a breach of contract and compensation for the breach. f. Any other relief the court deem fit. After the service of the writ and the accompanying statement of claim on the defendant and after the fil...