[1999]DLSC6739 Login to Read Full Case <span style="font-size: 18px !important;"><p class="MsoNoSpacing" align="center" style="text-align:center;line-height:115%"><b><span style="font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif"; color:#00B0F0">GEOFFREY CHRISTOPHER BADU-ANUM<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></b></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" align="center" style="text-align:center;line-height:115%"><b><i><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif;">(</span></i></b><i><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif;">PLAINTIFF/RESPONDENT/APPELLANT<b>)<o:p></o:p></b></span></i></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" align="center" style="text-align:center;line-height:115%"><b><span style="font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif"; color:#00B0F0">vs.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" align="center" style="text-align:center;line-height:115%"><b><span style="font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif"; color:#00B0F0">MRS. HENRIETTA BADU-ANUM<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></b></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" align="center" style="text-align:center;line-height:115%"><i><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height: 115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif"">(DEFENDANT/APPELLANT/RESPONDENT.)<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" align="center" style="text-align:center;line-height:115%"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif"">[SUPREME COURT, ACCRA]<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" align="center" style="text-align:center;line-height:115%"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height: 115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif""><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" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:center;line-height:115%;border:none;mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt; padding:0in;mso-padding-alt:0in 0in 0in 0in"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif"">CIVIL APPEAL NO. 5/97 </span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif""> DATE<b>: </b>14TH JULY, 1999<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></p> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: 115%"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif"">COUNSEL:</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif""><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align:justify;line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif"">ADUMUA-BOSSMAN FOR APPELLANT. <o:p></o:p></span></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" style="text-align:justify;line-height:115%;border:none; mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;padding:0in;mso-padding-alt:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in"><span style="font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif"">FUI TSIKATA WITH MIKE DZAKU FOR RESPONDENT.<o:p></o:p></span></p> </div><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align:justify;line-height:115%"><b><span style="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 1.0pt 0in"> <p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height:115%;border:none;mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.5pt;padding:0in;mso-padding-alt:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in"><span style="font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif"">HAYFRON-BENJAMIN J.S.C., AMPIAH J.S.C., ADJABENG J.S.C., ATUGUBA J.S.C., AKUFFO J.S.C.<o:p></o:p></span></p> </div><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height:115%"><b><span style="font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif""><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="center" style="text-align:center;line-height:115%; border:none;mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;padding:0in; mso-padding-alt:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in"><b><span style="font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif"">JUDGMENT<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align: justify;line-height:115%"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif"">C. HAYFRON-BENJAMIN, J.S.C. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:115%"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif"">In this appeal the Respondent shall be known as the Plaintiff and the Appellant, the Defendant. In the appeal before us the Defendant attacks the judgment of the Court of Appeal as rendered by the majority of their Lordships, invites us to uphold the opinion of the minority and prays for <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:115%"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif"">"the reversal of the Appeal Court decision and the construction of the Deed to reflect a rectification in accordance with clause 3 thereof with costs in favour of Defendant/Appellant.” <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:115%"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif"">The Plaintiff commenced these proceedings by an Originating Summons wherein he claimed <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;text-align:justify;line-height:115%"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height: 115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif"">“to be (b) interested as a party thereto in the time construction of a document dated 29th July, 1993 entitled “Deed of Gift” for the determination of the following question: (c) whether or not a certain document entitled “Deed of Gift” dated the 29th July, 1993 and executed by Plaintiff and Defendant confers any title or interest whatsoever on Defendant or on any of her five children by Plaintiff to or in the land and premises above-mentioned or any part thereof numbered 270/6 BLK. E3, North Teshie, Accra . . . .” <o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:115%"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif"">It is difficult to appreciate what “interest” the Plaintiff was claiming by that question. If I understand the question the Plaintiff was requesting the Court to determine the interest the Defendant had in the property. Nor were the Plaintiff’s five children by the Defendant parties to the originating summons. How they were to be bound by any decision of the Court the Plaintiff did not so indicate. But he accompanied his originating summons with an affidavit in which he averred that the alleged Deed of Gift was prepared on the instructions of the Defendant and he (Plaintiff) signed the document at her request: That he did not have independent legal advice but dealt which the Solicitor instructed by the Defendant: That the “Deed of Gift” did not contain any "operative words of grant" and no “habendum clause”: That paragraph 3 of the Exhibit G.C.B.A.1 was completely false and wholly untrue. In an unusual conclusion to any affidavit in support of an originating summons the Plaintiff prayed for <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;text-align:justify;line-height:115%"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height: 115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif"">“ . . . . a true construction of the said Deed Exhibit G.B.D.A.1 and for an answer to the question whether or not it confers any title, right, interest or claim whatsoever to the land therein mentioned to; in or upon Defendant or any of her five children by me therein mentioned.” <o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:115%"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif"">It will be useful at this stage to set down the paragraph 3 of the Exhibit referred to above. It runs thus <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:115%"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif"">“That the “DONEES” have performed the necessary customary rites to wit: payment of two Bottles Schnapps and the sum of ¢25,000.00 (twenty-five thousand cedis) to the “DONOR” in the presence of all principal members of the “DONOR'S” family.” <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:115%"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif"">On the 12th October, 1995 even before the Defendant had submitted an affidavit in opposition, three persons one claiming to be “the current head of family” and an elder brother and elder sister of the Plaintiff had sworn jointly to an affidavit to the effect that “we are principal members and elders of the family of the Plaintiff in this suit, Mr. Geoffrey C. Badu-Anum, alleged donor in the Deed dated 29th July, 1993 and husband of the Defendant Henrietta Badu-Anum.” (emphasis mine) To all intents and purposes at least two of the three subscribers to the affidavit were illiterates. The main thrust of the affidavit, however, was that the statement in Exhibit “G.C.B.A.1” concerning them was false. In their own words <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:115%"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif"">“we are not aware, and have never been informed, of any gift made by the Plaintiff to the Defendant.” <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:115%"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif"">The most important thing at this stage was that by their affidavit they recognized that the Plaintiff and the Defendant were lawfully married — husband and wife. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:115%"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif"">By her affidavit dated the 23rd October, 1995 the Defendant averred that <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:115%"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif"">“ . . . . the originating sum