APPOLO CINEMAS ESTATES (GH) LTD vs. CHIEF REGISTRAR OF LANDS AND OTHERS [2004]DLHC996

Date	2004-03-03
Suit No.
Citation No.	[2004]DLHC996

APPAU J

EMMANUEL OHENE FOR THE PLAINTIFF.

STELLA ACKWERH FOR THE FIRST DEFENDANT.

EKOW AWOONOR (WITH HIM CHARLES TETTEH) FOR THE SECOND AND THIRD DEFENDANTS.

[2004]DLHC996
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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">APPOLO CINEMAS ESTATES (GH) LTD<o:p></o:p><a name="_gjdgxs"></a><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">CHIEF REGISTRAR OF LANDS AND OTHERS<o:p></o:p>[HIGH COURT, ACCRA]<o:p></o:p>[2003-2005] 1 GLR 167<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: 3 March
2004<o:p></o:p>

</div>COUNSEL:<o:p></o:p>EMMANUEL OHENE FOR THE PLAINTIFF.<o:p></o:p>STELLA ACKWERH FOR THE FIRST DEFENDANT.<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">

EKOW AWOONOR (WITH HIM CHARLES TETTEH) FOR THE SECOND AND THIRD
DEFENDANTS. <o:p></o:p>

&nbsp;APPAU J<o:p></o:p>

</div>JUDGEMENT<o:p></o:p>Appau J. In 1999, precisely on 14 December 1999, the plaintiff, Appolo
Cinemas and Estates (Gh) Ltd, in a suit No 600/99 sued the defendant (Yaw
Boakye) hereinafter referred to as the third defendant, in this consolidated
suit claiming five reliefs, namely: (a) recovery of possession of the disputed
land as described on the writ of summons; (b) special damages for wrongful and
illegal destruction of house No F 572/1; (c) an order of perpetual injunction
restraining the defendant, etc from entering the said land and carrying on any
work or building operations thereon; (d) declaration of title to the said plot
of land and the demolished building thereon; and (e) general damages for
trespass and destruction of the said land and building thereon.<o:p></o:p>The statement of claim accompanying this writ is very brief. It
contains only six paragraphs and the sum total of the plaintiff’s case as
pleaded is that it is the legal and beneficial owner of a piece of land with a
building thereon as described under paragraph (2) of the statement of claim.
However, one Habiba Captan (who is the second defendant in suit No L 496/01 and
shall hereinafter be referred to as such) forcibly occupied this property,
according to the plaintiff, and efforts were being made to eject her from the
premises when on or about 26 November 1999, the third defendant, Yaw Boakye,
acting through others and without any authority, license, lease, grant or
anything of that sort from the plaintiff, forcibly pulled down the entire house
or building on the disputed land numbered F 572/1. It therefore took this
action claiming the reliefs as indorsed on the writ of summons.<o:p></o:p>The third defendant denied the plaintiff’s claim of ownership to
the property and contended in his statement of defence filed on 16 December
1999 that it belonged to his vendor, the second defendant, that is Habiba
Captan, who sold it to him under a contract of sale dated 27 April 1999. He
admitted demolishing the house or building on the land and maintained that it
was legal since his acquisition of the property, including the building was
legal. He then counterclaimed for title to the property and perpetual
injunction restraining the plaintiff from interfering in his quiet enjoyment of
it.<o:p></o:p>In its reply and defence to the counterclaim of the third
defendant, the plaintiff contended strongly that the second defendant’s title
recorded in the land title register was obtained by fraud and particularised
the alleged fraud. According to the plaintiff, the second defendant made a
fraudulent representation to the Chief Registrar of Lands that she was the
owner of the land at a time there did already exist a registered title with a
certificate in the name of the plaintiff in the land register and the Chief
Registrar of Lands, based upon this false representation, did a second
registration in favour of the second defendant, thus giving rise to two
certificates over the same land. The plaintiff contended further that there was
no valid contract of sale of the property to the third defendant so he had no
legal title at the time he entered and had the building on the land demolished.<o:p></o:p>The plaintiff then applied for an interlocutory injunction to
restrain the third defendant from entering the land and re-developing it but
the court, then presided over by Kusi-Appouh J, refused the application and
permitted the third defendant to carry on with his developments upon the
undertaking that if the third defendant lost in the action, he would pay
compensation to the plaintiff. The plaintiff appealed against the ruling of the
court and the Court of Appeal allowed the appeal and restrained the third
defendant from carrying on any further developments until the High Court
determined the substantive case before it.<o:p></o:p>The plaintiff had then filed a caveat at the Land Title Registry
against any attempt to register the property in the name of the third
defendant, Yaw Boakye, who was preparing to have the property registered,
notwithstanding the fact that the plaintiff was challenging his claim to the
land. The plaintiff then applied to the Chief Registrar of Lands to have the
land certificate of the second defendant cancelled since it was obtained by
fraud. The Chief Registrar</main>