[2020]DLCA8853 • May 28, 2020 • Court of Appeal
JOANA EWURABENA OCRAN vs. AMORT SECURITY SERVICES LTD
The plaintiff engaged the defendant security company to provide overnight security for her shops in East Legon, paying GHC400 monthly. Despite the security arrangement, burglars broke into the shops on 31 May 2016, stealing assorted goods valued by the plaintiff at GHC458,500. The plaintiff alleged negligence on the part of the security guard who failed to alert anyone during the intrusion, and sued the defendant for recovery of stolen items or their value, damages for breach of contract, costs, and other reliefs.
read moreOFOE,J.A: This appeal we will refer to the plaintiff/appellant as the plaintiff as she was in the trial High Court and the defendant/ respondent also as the defendant. The case of the parties that governed the trial and the judgment in the trial court can be stated tersely as follows: The plaintiff was in need of security for her shops which are located in the environs of East Legon. For that purpose, she contacted the defendant who agreed and posted one security guard to surveil the shop over the night, 6pm to 6am. It is not in dispute that the plaintiff paid GHC400 every month. Unfortunately, on the 31st of May 2016 plaintiff was informed that burglars during the night had broken into the shop and stolen some items from the shop. Since she expected the security guard to have alerted occupants of the area or anybody who could be of assistance to ward of the intrusion but did not, plaintiff concluded that the security guard was negligent in his assignment and therefore the defendan...