BARCLAYS BANK (D.C.O.) vs. HEWARD-MILLS [1964]DLSC1875

Date	1964-05-18
Suit No.
Citation No.	[1964]DLSC1875

SARKODEE-ADOO C.J.

ACOLATSE JSC

APALOO J.S.C.

SIR EDWARD ASAFU-ADJAYE (WITH HIM DAVEY AND OBENG) FOR THE APPELLANTS.

VICTOR OWUSU (WITH HIM ADADE) FOR THE RESPONDENT.

[1964]DLSC1875
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >BARCLAYS BANK (D.C.O.)<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;vs. <o:p></o:p>HEWARD-MILLS <o:p></o:p>[SUPREME COURT]<o:p></o:p>[1964] GLR 332<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in">

DATE:
18 MAY 1964.<o:p></o:p>

</div>COUNSEL:&nbsp;&nbsp; <o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0in 0in 0in 0in">

SIR EDWARD ASAFU-ADJAYE (WITH HIM DAVEY AND
OBENG), FOR THE APPELLANTS.<o:p></o:p>

VICTOR OWUSU (WITH HIM ADADE) FOR THE RESPONDENT.<o:p></o:p>

</div>CORAM:
<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0in 0in 0in 0in">

SARKODEE-ADOO C.J., ACOLATSE AND APALOO
JJ.S.C.<o:p></o:p>

</div><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>JUDGMENT OF APALOO J.S.C.<o:p></o:p>Apaloo
J.S.C. delivered the judgment of the court. The material facts of this case are
not in dispute and can be stated briefly. Some time in 1956, the respondent and
Edward Ramia entered into a partnership for the purpose of carrying on a
fishing business. That firm was known as the International Fisheries Company.
There is no evidence as to how that partnership fared but in 1958, the two
named partners together with Mrs. Ramia formed another partnership. This was
called the Sea Gull Fisheries Company. This firm was registered under the
Registration of Business Names Ordinance1 on 22 October 1958 (exhibit 5), and
took over the assets and liabilities of the International Fisheries Company. In
the latter half of 1958, two fishing boats were purchased from France. They are
Tonnerre de Brest and Vagabond de Mers. These two boats were assets of the
earlier partnership and licences for these boats to be operated in Ghana were
both issued on the 21 June 1958 (exhibits 2 and 3). The two boats were
subsequently transferred to, and became the assets of, the Seagull Fisheries
Company.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>The
evidence shows that the moneys used in paying for these boats as well as a
third one, namely, Le Mortian, were provided by a company known as Edward Ramia
Ltd. This company provided these sums at the behest of Edward Ramia one of the
partners in the firm of Seagull Fisheries. Edward Ramia Ltd. had a running
account with the appellants, and the latter transferred to France various sums
of money between June and November 1958, to named companies in that country for
the payment of these boats. It would seem that the company was not itself in
credit to make these payments and was enabled to do so by a facility which the
appellants extended to it. The total sums transferred in this manner works out
at just over twenty thousand pounds. The evidence shows that these payments
left Edward Ramia Ltd. in debit in the sum of twenty-one thousand odd pounds.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>The
Seagull Fisheries Company itself opened an account with the appellants on 10
December 1958. On that day, the respondent and his two partners, namely, Edward
Ramia and his wife, subscribed their signatures to a printed form which
requested the appellants to open an account in the firm’s name and authorised
the latter to honour cheques, bills, etc., signed by any one of the partners
and among other things, authorised the appellants to carry out all instructions
issued to them in connection with the said account by any one of the partners
(exhibit 1). The firm appeared to have applied to the appellants for a facility
and the latter were agreeable to granting this on the provision of security.
Accordingly, in November 1958, the respondent and his partners executed a bill
of sale in favour of the appellants of the two boats Vagabond de Mers and
Tonnerre de Brest to secure repayment of such moneys, as the appellants might
make available for the company.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>It would
seem that towards the close of December 1958, the appellants had occasion to
express concern to Mr. Ramia about the large debit balance standing against
Edward Ramia Ltd. in their books. On 30 December 1958, apparently after being
interviewed by the manager Mr. Craig, Mr. Ramia authorised the appellants to
transfer to the account of the Seagull Fisheries, the balance of the account of
Edward Ramia Ltd. This authority was written out in longhand by Mr. Craig and
was signed by Mr. Ramia (exhibit 12). At that date, the debit balance of Edward
Ramia Ltd. stood at £G21,863 18s. 6d. This instruction was carried out that
very day and the account of the Seagull Fisheries Company was duly debited with
this sum (exhibit 6). Before that date, that account was in debit in the sum of
£G914 18s. 6d., but by reason of this transfer the account of the partnership
stood at £G22,778 17s. “in the red.” A corresponding credit entry of like
amount was made in the account of Edward Ramia Ltd. in the books of the
appellants (exhibit 7).<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>Judging
from the debit and credit entries in the appellants’ ledger of the partnership
accounts, the Seagull Fisheries Company was doing active business and bank
lodgments in favour of the partnership account were fairly frequent, but the
account was nearly always in debit. At the close of business on 7 June 1960,
the debit against the partnership stood at £G21,074 5s. 9d. On 24 June 1960,
the appellants caused to be issued against the partners in the High Court,</main>