SYKES vs. ABBEY [1996]DLSC621

Date	1996-03-19
Suit No.
Citation No.	[1996]DLSC621

AIKINS JSC

AMPIAH JSC

KPEGAH JSC

ADJABENG JSC

ATUGUBA JSC

ODOI SYKES FOR THE PLAINTIFF-APPELLANT.

E M NARH (WITH HIM D MENSAH) FOR THE DEFENDANT-RESPONDENT.

[1996]DLSC621
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" ><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;
mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;;mso-bidi-font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;;
color:#00B0F0">SYKES <o:p></o:p><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;
mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;;mso-bidi-font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;;
color:#00B0F0">vs.<o:p></o:p><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;
mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;;mso-bidi-font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;;
color:#00B0F0">&nbsp;ABBEY <o:p></o:p>[SUPREME COURT, ACCRA]<o:p></o:p>[1995-96] 1 GLR 81<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">

<p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style="margin-bottom:5.0pt;text-align:right;
mso-pagination:none;border:none;mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0in;mso-padding-alt:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in">Date: 19 March,
1996<o:p></o:p>

</div>COUNSEL:<o:p></o:p>ODOI SYKES FOR THE PLAINTIFF-APPELLANT.<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">

E M NARH (WITH HIM D MENSAH)
FOR THE DEFENDANT-RESPONDENT. <o:p></o:p>

AIKINS, AMPIAH, KPEGAH,
ADJABENG AND ATUGUBA JJSC<o:p></o:p>

</div>JUDGMENT OF AIKINS JSC.<o:p></o:p>The plaintiff and the defendant in this case were married under
customary law in 1960. They lived together happily as man and wife for some 27
years until the marriage broke down in 1987. In the early stages of the
marriage (to be precise two years after the marriage ceremony) the plaintiff,
desirous of owning a house gave cash the sum of £70 to the defendant to
purchase for her a plot of land, which the husband did and informed her that
the land was situate at Abeka, but when later she pressed for the documents on
the land, the defendant told her that the land had been stolen by someone who
quickly put up a house on it. As a result, the husband released one of his own
three plots of land to her as a replacement, and told her to build on it while
he pursued the preparation of the title deed in her name together with the
building plans.<o:p></o:p>The defendant’s version was slightly different. He denied ever
giving the plaintiff any land in replacement of the one at Abeka. However, he
admitted receiving the £70, but said that when the land was paid for, the
surveyor who demarcated the land, one J O Abbey, gave the site plan and
receipts covering the transaction to the plaintiff at their residence. He said
when later he got to know that the land had been sold to another person, he
informed the plaintiff, and the vendor promised to replace it, but in the event
failed to honour his promise till his death.<o:p></o:p>Even though the plaintiff avers that she started building the
house all by herself, after the defendant had offered to assist her with the
supervision of the house, in reliance on the assurances given her by the
defendant, ie to give her a valid title deed to the plot, and also to get her
the final building plans in her name together with a building permit, the
defendant, in paragraph (6) of his statement of defence, talks of putting up
the building on the plot exclusively by him out of his own resources without
any contribution in any shape or form from the plaintiff, except that on
completion of the building the plaintiff of her own volition paid for the
connection of light and water to the premises.<o:p></o:p>After fruitless attempts to get the defendant to execute the
necessary documents in respect of the land in her favour, the plaintiff issued
a writ in the High Court in October 1987 claiming:<o:p></o: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">“(a) A declaration that the plaintiff is the owner of house No
B337/22 (B586/22) North Kaneshie, Accra and the plot or parcel of land on which
it stands, the said house having been built with the plaintiffs own personal
funds realised from her private trading, and that the plaintiff is entitled to
have the said house conveyed to her by the defendant, and the income derived
from it paid to the plaintiff, <o:p></o: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">(b) An account of all rents collected from the said house from
1977 up to the date of Judgment, <o:p></o: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">(c) Perpetual injunction restraining the defendant, his agents,
servants and others from interfering with the plaintiff’s interest in the said
house.”<o:p></o:p>Other claims by the plaintiff concern joint-ownership of a
business by the parties known as “Hams Inn Stores.” I shall deal with this
aspect of her claims later in this judgment.<o:p></o:p>Judgment was given in her favour by the High Court, Accra presided
over by Lutterodt J (as she then was) but this was overturned by the Court of
Appeal. It is against this judgment of the Court of Appeal that the plaintiff-
appellant (hereinafter referred to as the plaintiff) has appealed to this
court.<o:p></o:p>The learned trial judge in her decision accepted the claims of the
plaintiff. After quite an exhaustive examination of the evidence before her,
she had no hesitation in holding that the defendant gave the vacant plot of
land at North Kaneshie on which th</main>