H.F.C BANK GHANA LIMITED vs. AIRPORT FRIENDS ENTERPRISE, ALHAJI YAHUZA HARUNA AND EMMANUEL DZAH [2014]DLCA4844

H.F.C BANK GHANA LIMITED vs. AIRPORT FRIENDS ENTERPRISE, ALHAJI YAHUZA HARUNA A... [2014]DLCA4844

Date	2014-07-29
Suit No.	CIVIL APPEAL SUIT NO: H1/3/2014
Citation No.	[2014]DLCA4844

D. ADJEI JA (PRESIDING)

LOVELACE-JOHNSON JA

ACKAH-YENSU JA

MOHAMMED AWAL ALHASSAN FOR DEFENDANTS/APPELLANTS

SULLEY SAMBIEN FOR PLAINTIFF/RESPONDENT

[2014]DLCA4844
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >H.F.C BANK GHANA LIMITED<o:p></o:p>(PLAINTIFF/
RESPONDENT)<o:p></o:p>vs.<o:p></o:p>AIRPORT FRIENDS ENTERPRISE, ALHAJI YAHUZA HARUNA AND EMMANUEL
DZAH<o:p></o:p>(DEFENDANTS/APPELLANTS)<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>[COURT OF APPEAL, TAMALE]<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
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CIVIL
APPEAL SUIT NO: H1/3/2014&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: 29TH JULY, 2014<o:p></o:p>

</div>COUNSEL:<o:p></o:p>MOHAMMED AWAL ALHASSAN FOR
DEFENDANTS/APPELLANTS<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
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SULLEY
SAMBIEN FOR PLAINTIFF/RESPONDENT <o:p></o:p>

</div>CORAM:
<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
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D.
ADJEI JA (PRESIDING), LOVELACE-JOHNSON JA, ACKAH-YENSU JA<o:p></o:p>

</div><o:p>&nbsp;</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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padding:0in;mso-padding-alt:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in">JUDGMENT<o:p></o:p>

</div>BARBARA
ACKAH-YENSU, JA<o:p></o:p>This is an appeal against
the Ruling of the High Court sitting in Tamale dated 25th June,
2013.&nbsp; The trial Court dismissed the Defendants/Appellants’
(hereinafter simply referred to as “Defendants”) application to set aside a default
judgment entered in favour of the Plaintiff/Respondent (also to be referred to
as “Plaintiff”) and for leave to file statement of defence and counterclaim out
of time.&nbsp; Being aggrieved and dissatisfied
with this Ruling, the Defendants have appealed on the following grounds:<o:p></o:p>1.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;That
the Ruling is against the weight of evidence before the court.<o:p></o:p>2.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; That the 2nd and 3rd
Defendants were improperly and unnecessarily, made parties to the suit.<o:p></o:p>3.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Further grounds of appeal would be
filed upon receipt of copy of the Ruling.<o:p></o:p>Defendants did not file
any further grounds and so this information becomes redundant. We have
described it as information because that is all it is; it does not qualify as a
ground.&nbsp; A ground of appeal should be one
which may determine the appeal one way or the other.&nbsp; The information to the Court by the Plaintiff
that they may file additional grounds of appeal on receipt of the record of
appeal is distinct from the grounds.<o:p></o:p>Counsel for the Plaintiff
opined in his written submissions that since the title on the Notice of Appeal
states that the appeal was “In the High Court, Commercial Division, Tamale”,
and since the Commercial Court is not a Court of Appeal, there is no appeal
pending before this Court.&nbsp; Thus the
instant appeal ought to be dismissed, albeit Counsel reminded himself of
decisions of the Supreme Court in cases like Halle &amp; Sons SA vrs Bank of Ghana &amp; Warm Weather Ent. Ltd [2011]
SCGLR, to the effect that honest litigants should not be driven away from
the judgment seat on technical grounds.&nbsp;
We wish to add that no injustice would be done to the Plaintiff if this
obvious error is ignored.&nbsp; In any case
Counsel for the Defendants corrected himself and stated the correct title on the
written submissions filed by him.<o:p></o:p>In view of the nature of
this appeal and some of the issues arising therefrom, we shall be a bit more
detailed in the account of the background to the case. The genesis of this case
is that the Plaintiff instituted an action jointly and severally against the
Defendants for the following reliefs:<o:p></o:p>