[2011]DLSC2954 Login to Read Full Case <span style="font-size: 18px !important;"><span style="font-size: 18px !important;"><span style="font-size: 18px !important;"><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; text-align: center; line-height: 15.55pt; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:Helvetica;color:#00B0F0">FELIX YAW BANI</span></b><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; text-align: center; line-height: 15.55pt; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:Helvetica;color:#00B0F0">vs.</span></b><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; text-align: center; line-height: 15.55pt; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Book Antiqua","serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:Helvetica;color:#00B0F0">MAERSK GHANA LIMITED</span></b><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif;"> [SUPREME COURT, ACCRA]</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="border-top: none; border-right: none; border-left: none; border-image: initial; border-bottom: 1.5pt solid windowtext; padding: 0in 0in 1pt; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6pt; line-height: normal; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: none; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif;">CIVIL APPEAL NO. J4/48/2010 DATE: 30<sup>TH</sup> MARCH, 2011<o:p></o:p></span></p> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif;">COUNSEL</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif;">: </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; line-height: 15.55pt; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif;">JAMES MARSHALL BELIEB FOR THE APPELLANT.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="border-top: none; border-right: none; border-left: none; border-image: initial; border-bottom: 1.5pt solid windowtext; padding: 0in 0in 1pt; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; line-height: 15.55pt; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: none; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif;">GEORGE THOMSON FOR THE RESPONDENT.<o:p></o:p></span></p> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif;">CORAM:</span></b><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif;">DATE-BAH, JSC (PRESIDING) DOTSE, JSC YEBOAH, JSC ARYEETEY, JSC AND AKOTO-BAMFO (MRS), JSC<o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="border-top: 1.5pt solid windowtext; border-left: none; border-bottom: 1.5pt solid windowtext; border-right: none; padding: 1pt 0in; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; text-align: center; line-height: 15.55pt; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: none; padding: 0in;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif;">JUDGEMENT</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; line-height: 15.55pt; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif;">DR DATE-BAH, JSC:</span></u></b><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif;">The Facts;</span></u></b><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif;">The plaintiff was the defendant company’s Inland Container Depot (or “ICD”) officer stationed at Kumasi. He was in charge of the defendant’s inland container depot there. By a letter of September 19, 2006, the defendant terminated the plaintiff’s appointment. The letter based the justification for this action on the findings made by a subcommittee set up by the defendant to inquire into the matter. The subcommittee had made the finding that the plaintiff had failed to exercise the required supervision over the Kumasi depot by allowing an unauthorized third party truck to be brought into the depot, contrary to company policy. The letter stated that the plaintiff’s failure to exercise effective supervision had placed the defendant at enormous risk.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif;">The subcommittee’s inquiry had been necessitated by the following episode: a senior employee of the defendant visited its Kumasi depot on 17</span><sup><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif;">th</span></sup><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif;"> August 2006 and found an unauthorized vehicle, which did not belong to the defendant, parked there, in breach of company regulations. This incident triggered the setting up of an investigative sub-committee by the defendant to inquire into it. According to the eventual report of the sub-committee, its terms of reference were:</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 7.5pt 1in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: normal; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif;">1.</span><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif;">“To ascertain whether Kenneth Kpedor, an employee of Maersk Ghana Ltd. Owns/manages the unauthorized third party truck, in question with registration number GR 3109 E;</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in