MICHAEL KOMI AKOTO AMPAW vs. HOUEGH AUTOLINER INC. /HOEGH & 2 OTHERS

“The daily negotiations and property of merchants ought not to depend upon subtleties and niceties; but upon rules, easily learned and easily retained, because they are the dictates of common sense, drawn from the truth of the case. Per Lord Mansfield in the case of Hamilton v Mendes [1761] 97 ER 787. In this case, the Plaintiff who describes himself as a private business man and an evangelist purchased a slightly used 2011 model of a vehicle, an Audi Q7 TDI, which he arranged to be shipped on board the vessel Hoegh Masan 43 belonging to the 1st Defendant shipping line from the United States of America bound for Tema in Ghana as the port of destination. After the discharge of the vehicle from the vessel at the Tema Port, to his dismay, he found the vehicle was damaged, to wit, all four doors had dents and scratch marks, cracks and damages to the right side mirror, damage, which he says was not present at the time he purchased the vehicle and at the time he consigned it to the ship.....