<p class="mb-5" id="contentDlCitation" hidden>[1967]DLCA1538</p> <div class="restriction-wrapper"> <div class="container-lg"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-md-12 restricted-content"> <div class="restricted-content-img-wrapper"> <div class="lock-icon bounce-7"> <img class="" src="https://www.dennislawgh.com/dl-assets/dl-images/lock-content.png" alt="Subscription based content"> </div> </div> <a href="https://www.dennislawgh.com/login" class="btn btn-primary btn-lg" style="font-family: 'open sans'; text-transform: capitalize; border-radius: 8px"> Login to Read Full Case </a> </div> </div> </div> </div> <main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" ><span style="font-size: 18px !important;"><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:5.0pt;text-align:center; mso-pagination:none;tab-stops:center 3.25in left 396.75pt"><b><span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family:Times;color:#548DD4;mso-themecolor:text2;mso-themetint: 153">S.C.O.A. MOTORS, ACCRA <o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:5.0pt;text-align:center; mso-pagination:none;tab-stops:center 3.25in left 396.75pt"><b><span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family:Times;color:#548DD4;mso-themecolor:text2;mso-themetint: 153">vs. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:5.0pt;text-align:center; mso-pagination:none;tab-stops:center 3.25in left 396.75pt"><b><span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family:Times;color:#548DD4;mso-themecolor:text2;mso-themetint: 153">KORANTENG <o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:5.0pt;text-align:center; mso-pagination:none;tab-stops:center 3.25in left 396.75pt"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif;">[COURT OF APPEAL]<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:5.0pt;text-align:center; mso-pagination:none"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif;">[1967] GLR 263<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt; padding:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in"> <p class="MsoNoSpacing" align="right" style="text-align:right;line-height:115%; border:none;mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;padding:0in; mso-padding-alt:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif"">DATE:</span></i><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height: 115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif";mso-bidi-font-family:Tahoma;color:#00B0F0"> </span></b><span style="font-family: Times, serif;">24 APRIL 1967</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif""><o:p></o:p></span></p> </div><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height:115%"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif"">COUNSEL: <o:p></o:p></span></b></p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt; padding:0in 0in 0in 0in"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;tab-stops:104.25pt;border:none; mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;padding:0in;mso-padding-alt:0in 0in 0in 0in"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family:Tahoma">DJAMSON FOR THE APPELLANTS.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;tab-stops:104.25pt;border:none; mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;padding:0in;mso-padding-alt:0in 0in 0in 0in"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family:Tahoma">T. K. AGADZI FOR THE RESPONDENT.<o:p></o:p></span></p> </div><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height:115%"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif"">CORAM: <o:p></o:p></span></b></p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt; padding:0in 0in 0in 0in"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt;text-align:justify;border:none; mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;padding:0in;mso-padding-alt:0in 0in 0in 0in"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif;">OLLENNU, AZU CRABBE AND APALOO J.A.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:5.0pt;text-align:justify;mso-pagination: none;border:none;mso-padding-alt:31.0pt 31.0pt 31.0pt 31.0pt;mso-border-shadow: yes"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:5.0pt;text-align:justify;mso-pagination: none;border:none;mso-padding-alt:31.0pt 31.0pt 31.0pt 31.0pt;mso-border-shadow: yes"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif;">JUDGMENT OF AZU CRABBE J. A.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:5.0pt;text-align:justify;mso-pagination: none;border:none;mso-padding-alt:31.0pt 31.0pt 31.0pt 31.0pt;mso-border-shadow: yes"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif;">This is an appeal against the judgment of Acolatse J. whereby £G30 damages together with 150 guineas costs were awarded in favour of the plaintiff against the defendant company in an action for wrongful dismissal. The following statement of the facts of the case is taken from the judgment of the trial court:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:5.0pt; margin-left:.5in;text-align:justify;mso-pagination:none;border:none;mso-padding-alt: 31.0pt 31.0pt 31.0pt 31.0pt;mso-border-shadow:yes"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif;">“The plaintiff is a comparatively young man of 34 years who has been unemployed since 31 May 1961 upon his dismissal from the service of the defendant company.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:5.0pt; margin-left:.5in;text-align:justify;mso-pagination:none;border:none;mso-padding-alt: 31.0pt 31.0pt 31.0pt 31.0pt;mso-border-shadow:yes"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif;">The plaintiff was originally employed in the service of the company in 1949 at Nsawam as a debit clerk. He was transferred to Accra in the same position as a debit clerk by the company in 1958 until his dismissal at a salary of £G30 a month. The plaintiff’s duty at the time of his service with the company was to prepare debit notes and invoices and extensions for the defendant’s tyre stores at Kumasi, Takoradi and Accra. It appeared that the plaintiff discharged his duties diligently and had the confidence of his superior officers. However, in November 1960 a shortage was detected in the tyre store in Accra kept by the company’s storekeeper, I. K. Kwetey. There had been discovered in the plaintiff’s books certain errors and the manager, Mr. Platnic, questioned the plaintiff about those errors in the invoices and debit notes concerning the Accra tyre store kept by Kwetey. The plaintiff was suspected of having conspired with the storekeeper to defraud the company by deliberately causing alterations in the cost price and the selling price on the invoices and yet leaving the grand totals intact. The plaintiff denied the allegation of conspiracy with the storekeeper to steal the amount alleged in the shortages against the storekeeper. The plaintiff, however, insisted that the errors in the books were genuine and not deliberately done in concert with the storekeeper in connection with the shortages in the Accra store and that he corrected the debit notes putting in the correct figures upon Mr. Platnic’s instruction to do so. The defendant company reported the matter of the shortages against the storekeeper to the police. The police on 31 January 1961 searched the plaintiff’s premises and found six sheets of paper containing names of the storekeeper’s credit customers. The first five sheets were written by the storekeeper. The sixth was written by the plaintiff who alleged he wrote the names down on instruction of the storekeeper for the storekeeper’s own use to balance his account for the storekeeper. It had nothing to do with his duties at all. It was not prepared for the company but for the use of the storekeeper when he took his own stock. He, the plaintiff, had nothing to do with the stocktaking of the defendant’s tyre store. The photostat of the original sheet on which the plaintiff wrote the names of the credit customers was put in evidence as exhibit 1 by the defendants. They found a total shortage when they balanced the stock for the storekeeper on the list in the sum of £G3,204 4s. 10d. but they did not know the nature of the shortages. Exhibits 2 and 3 called the “pneumatic books” were put in, which were books kept by the plaintiff in which he made the entries. The corrected figures were done by adding machine when the books were collected from the plaintiff by the manager. The plaintiff had never had the opportunity to check his entries by the use of an adding machine. It was never used in the course of his duties and employment. He denied having made the alterations after the accounts had been checked and signed. The plaintiff during the investigation into the shortages was transferred to the post of a supervisor of the accounts section of the spare parts department in February 1961 at the same salary as his former position. It was admitted that the post of a supervisor is more important than a debit clerk. He was checking entries made by other clerks in the department under the immediate supervision of Mr. Platnic, the manager. The plaintiff was formally dismissed by the company under a letter dated 31 May 1961 tendered as exhibit A without notice as from the receipt of the letter: ‘You will recall that at the end of January 1961 we found shortages in the tyres and tubes department. During our investigation into this matter we discovered serious discrepancies in the 336 account amounting to £G2,230 (two thousand two hundred and thirty pounds). On drawing your attention to this you admitted to having changed figures in the 336 account after the account had already been checked and signed as correct. It seemed a strange coincidence that from all the garages whose accounts you control the discrepancies were only discovered in the Accra account. The police investigations into this incident entailed a search of your living quarters where a list of customers who have received credit from the tyre storekeeper was discovered in your possession. From this list the company was able to recuperate some small amount from the existing shortage. The company has decided after due consideration that your conduct warrants instant dismissal without notice. We are therefore dispensing with your services as from the receipt of this letter.’<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:5.0pt;text-align:justify;mso-pagination: none;border:none;mso-padding-alt:31.0pt 31.0pt 31.0pt 31.0pt;mso-border-shadow: yes"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:5.0pt;text-align:justify;mso-pagination: none;border:none;mso-padding-alt:31.0pt 31.0pt 31.0pt 31.0pt;mso-border-shadow: yes"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif;">The defendants’ manager gave evidence for the company. The evidence was not very much at variance with the evidence given by the plaintiff. The witness said having found certain discrepancies in the account of the storekeeper he reported the matter to the police who took up the investigation and found exhibit 1 on the premises of the plaintiff. The witness found the invoices had been wrong</main>
