[2014]DLCA2958 Login to Read Full Case <span style="font-size: 18px !important;"><span style="font-size: 18px !important;"><p class="MsoNoSpacing" align="center" style="text-align:center;line-height:115%"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif;color:#00B0F0">PAPA GYIMAH GENFI<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height:115%;tab-stops:center 225.65pt left 383.25pt"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt; line-height:115%;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 lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif;color:#00B0F0">DR. J .K. ACQUAYE<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif;"> [COURT OF APPEAL, ACCRA]</span><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif;mso-bidi-font-family:Tahoma"><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="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;border:none; mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;padding:0in;mso-padding-alt:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">CIVIL APPEAL NO. H1/189</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height: 115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif;mso-bidi-font-family:Tahoma">/2013 </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif"> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Book Antiqua", serif;">DATE: 14</span><sup><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif; mso-bidi-font-family:Tahoma">TH</span></sup><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif;mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma"> NOVEMBER, 2013<o:p></o:p></span></p> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;tab-stops: .5in 1.0in 257.25pt"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">COUNSEL: <o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">KWAME BOAFO AKUFFO FOR PLAINTIFF/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="line-height:115%;border:none;mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.5pt;padding:0in;mso-padding-alt:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">MR. JOSEPH TURKSON FOR DEFENDANT/RESPONDENT<o:p></o:p></span></p> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt; line-height:115%;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 lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">MARFUL-SAU JA (PRESIDING), OFOE JA ,TORKORNOOJA<o:p></o:p></span></p> </div><p class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst"><i><u><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif; mso-bidi-font-family:Tahoma"><o:p><span style="text-decoration-line: none;"> </span></o:p></span></u></i></p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt; padding:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in"> <p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" align="center" style="text-align:center;border:none; mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;padding:0in;mso-padding-alt:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">JUDGEMENT</span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif; mso-bidi-font-family:Tahoma"><o:p></o:p></span></p> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b><u><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">MARFUL-SAU, JA</span></u></b><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif"> :-</span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">This appeal is taken from the judgment of the High Court dated the 10<sup>th</sup> of April 2008. In the said judgment the court dismissed the claims of the plaintiff who will be referred to as appellant in this judgment. The trial court then entered judgment for the defendant herein referred to as the respondent on his counterclaim.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">The facts of this case are simple. The appellant had purchased the parcel of land the subject of the dispute from one Sarah Korkor Narh, who in turn acquired the land from one Lawyer E. A. Quaye. Lawyer E. A. Quaye claimed that the land was gifted to him by the mother Madam Rebecca Nuamah Dodoo. The appellant as the record indicates was able to register the transaction with her vendor at the Land Title Registry under a certificate number GA 6434.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">The respondent on the other hand claimed the land was gifted to her mother, who was the daughter of Madam Rebecca Nuamah Dodoo. The respondent claimed that Lawyer E. A. Quaye who was his uncle forged a Deed of Gift between himself and Madam Rebecca Nuamah Dodoo affecting the land the subject of the dispute. This forged Deed of Gift was dated the 5<sup>th</sup> of May 1996. The respondent brought an action in the High Court against his uncle and the court declared the Deed of Gift and all transactions arising there from as a nullity.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">The appellant’s claim that he was an innocent purchaser without notice was rejected by the trial court, as the court found that the appellant had notice of respondent’s possession of the land. In deed the record revealed that at the time the appellant went onto the land the respondent had constructed a fence wall around the land and stationed one Sule on the land. It is against this judgment that the appeal had been filed.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">In the Notice of Appeal two grounds were formulated as follows:-<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-indent:.5in"><b><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">‘’(i)The judgment is against the weight of evidence.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:45.0pt;text-align:justify"><b><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">(ii) The court glossed over the crucial fact that the Appellant was a bona fide purchaser for value without notice.’’<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">In this appeal I intend to address the first ground as stated above since that ground would take care of the second. It is trite that when an appellant claims that a judgment entered by a trial court is against the weight of evidence adduced at the trial the appellate court is thus empowered to review the trial by re-assessing the evidence on record to ascertain whether the judgment entered by the court could be supported by evidence on record. See TUAKWA v. BOSOM (2001-2002) SCGLR 61.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">An appeal is also said to be a re-hearing. Rule 8 (1) of the Court of Appeal Rules, CI 19 provides thus:-<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;text-align:justify"><b><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">‘’ Any appeal to the Court shall be by way of re-hearing and shall be brought by notice referred to in these rules as notice of appeal.’’<o:p></o:p></span><