EMPIRE BUILDERS LIMITED vs. TOPKINGS ENTERPRISES LTD. & 4 OTHERS

The plaintiff company claimed title to approximately 456.25 acres of land at Adjiringano North, Accra, asserting that the land formed part of a larger 1,863-acre lease originally granted in 1977 by the Ashong Mlitse Family of Teshie to Barone Fiore Ernesto Taricone and assigned to the plaintiff in 1979. The plaintiff said it later surrendered part of the land and retained 456 acres, over which it obtained a deed of confirmation and undertook developments. It alleged that the 1st defendant encroached on the land and procured Land Certificate No. T.D. 0042 by fraud. The 1st defendant denied the plaintiff’s title, contending that the land belonged to the Nungua Stool, from which it had acquired 62 acres and registered its interests. Additional defendants were joined, including representatives of the Nungua Stool, the Lands Commission, and Reit-Top Housing Estate Ltd., which had acquired part of the disputed land from the 1st defendant. Source in judgment: paras. 3–10.

AMADU, JSC:- (1) This appeal is from the decision of the Court of Appeal pronounced on the 18th December, 2014 which affirmed in part the judgment of the High Court dated 11th June, 2003. For purposes of convenience, the parties to the appeal shall be referred to by the same description as in the Trial High Court. The Plaintiff herein, aggrieved by the decision of the Court of Appeal has appealed to this court seeking an overturn of the decision. (2) The key question for our decision in this appeal is whether the Court of Appeal correctly reevaluated the evidence on record and applied the relevant law and consequently came to the right conclusion by affirming the judgment of the Trial Court in part only. (3) BACKGROUND By a Writ of Summons issued on 24th February 1999 the Plaintiff commenced this action against the 1st Defendant for the following reliefs: a. “A declaration of title to a parcel of land situate at Adjiringano-North, Accra comprising an approximate area of 456.25 .....