MOHAMMED HIJAZI vs. MIDDLE EAST AIRLINES LTD [2009]DLCA6519

Date	2009-07-23
Suit No.	CIVIL APPEAL NO: H1/157/07
Citation No.	[2009]DLCA6519

KANYOKE J.A. (PRESIDING)

BROWN (MRS.) J.A

HONYENUGA J .A

[2009]DLCA6519
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >MOHAMMED
HIJAZI<o:p></o:p>(PLAINTIFF/RESPONDENT)<o:p></o:p>vs.<o:p></o:p>MIDDLE EAST
AIRLINES LTD.<o:p></o:p>(DEFENDANT/APPELLANT)<o:p></o:p>[COURT OF APPEAL, ACCRA]<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
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<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;
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APPEAL NO: H1/157/07 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;DATE: 23RD JULY, 2009<o:p></o:p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
115%;mso-outline-level:1;border:none;mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0in;mso-padding-alt:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in">KANYOKE J.A. (PRESIDING), BROWN
(MRS.) J.A, HONYENUGA J .A.<o:p></o:p>

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<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;
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solid windowtext 1.5pt;padding:0in;mso-padding-alt:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in">JUDGMENT<o:p></o:p>

</div>KANYOKE,
J.A. <o:p></o:p>This
appeal emanates from the judgment of the High Court, Accra dated the 28th day
of March 2008 in which judgment was entered in favour of the
plaintiff/respondent against the defendant/appellant for a total of nine
hundred and ten million old Ghana cedis (¢910,000,000.00) or (Gh¢910,000.00)
with costs of fifty million old Ghana cedis (¢50,000,000.00) or (Gh¢50,000.00)
as damages for negligence, delay in carriage and defamation (libel). For ease
of reference, the plaintiff/respondent shall henceforth be referred to as the
plaintiff and the defendant/appellant as the defendant or the defendant
Airline. <o:p></o:p>The
brief facts of this case are as follows: <o:p></o:p>The
plaintiff is the Managing Director and a majority shareholder of two motor
companies in Ghana namely African Automobile Ltd. and International Automobile
Ltd. In or about July 20m, the plaintiff bough the defendant's airline business
class ticket from his agent in Accra to travel from Accra to Beirut scheduled
to return to Accra on the 4/08/01. Whilst being carried on the defendant's
aircraft to Beirut via Kano in Nigeria, a large and obese woman who got on
board the aircraft at Kano was seated next to the plaintiff. Apart from this,
the obese woman carried on her lap a restless one year old child brought to her
by another lady from the economy class. In addition, two large bags belonging
to this other lady were placed on the floor between the plaintiff and the obese
woman. The plaintiff was consequently squeezed into the edge of his seat
against the wall of the aircraft. The plaintiff averred that the child on the
laps of the obese woman was so extremely restless that when drinks were served,
the obese woman with her elbow spilled the drink served on the mini tray
between her seat and that of the plaintiff into the plaintiffs lap as she
attended to the child. The plaintiff averred that as a result of all these
things he was put to extreme discomfort. He further averred that the
defendant's four cabin attendants who were present throughout observed all
these things oblivious of the plaintiffs discomfort until the plaintiff
eventually managed to draw the attention of his discomfort to one of the cabin
attendants who removed one of the large bags and placed it in the baggage
compartment leaving the other plastic bag. The plaintiff again averred that his
discomfort was therefore only partially addressed. He accordingly claimed
consequential damages for the extreme discomfort he suffered during his
carriage from Kano to Beirut alleging negligence on the part of the defendant. <o:p></o:p>The
plaintiff further averred that on the 4th August 2001, when he was scheduled to
return to Accra, there was no aircraft to carry him back to Accra. He was
therefore delayed for over 30 hours which the defendant claimed was caused by a
technical problem which required the aircraft to be fixed in Abidjan. <o:p></o:p>However,
according to the plaintiff he later got information that the flight had been
delayed because the aircraft had been diverted on charter to Abidjan. The
plaintiff alleged that following the delay in the flight back to Accra he
incurred feeding, accommodation and transportation expenses in Beirut and that
the delay also caused him to miss an important business meeting with Union
Motors in Ghana leading to a loss of a business opportunity to win a contract
to supply the Ghana Police Service with 200 motorbikes at a cost of $40,000.00.
He therefore claimed damages for loss of business profit arising out of the
delay. Finally, the plaintiff further averred that on his eventual return to
Accra on 6/08/01 he wrote to the defendant's Ghana Manager and complained about
the treatment meted out to him on his journey. In reply to his said letter the
defendant's Ghana Manager Mr. Jihad Elhajj, whilst trying to apologize rather
defamed him (plaintiff). The plaintiff therefore also claimed damages for
libel. On the basis of all these facts the plaintiff issued a writ of summons
the endorsement of which was later amended, seeking the following reliefs
against the defendant: <o:p></o:p>“i
General damages for the negligent carriage of the plaintiff from Accra to
Beirut through Kano on 29/7/01. <o:p></o:p>ii
General damages for the delay in the carriage of the plaintiff from Beirut to
Accra scheduled for departure on 4/08/01 at 2:05 a. m. and which failed to
depart until 6/08/01 at 12:00 p.m. <o:p></o:p>iii.
General damages for mental and physical distress and loss of business and
business opportunity. <o:p></o:p>iv
General damages for libel contained in a letter dated 21/09/01 Ref. No.
ACC.SA.0229 written by Jihad Hajj the defendant’s Ghana Manger. <o:p></o:p>v
A perpetual injunction to restrain the defend and their agents, servants from
repeating the said libel or similar libel of the plaintiff. <o:p></o:p>