MARY TSOTSO LARYEA & 3 ORS. vs. AMARKAI LARYEA [2015]DLCA5325

Date	2015-03-26
Suit No.	SUIT NO. H1/102/2014
Citation No.	[2015]DLCA5325

OWUSU M. (PRESIDING)

ADUAMA OSEI J.A.

SOWAH J.A.

MR. SOMUAH ASAMOAH FOR RESPONDENTS

MR. PHILIP JIMANOR FOR APPELLANT

[2015]DLCA5325
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >MARY TSOTSO LARYEA &amp; 3 ORS.<o:p></o:p>(PLAINTIFFS/RESPONDENTS)<o:p></o:p>vs.<o:p></o:p>AMARKAI LARYEA<o:p></o:p>(DEFENDANT/APPELLANT)<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;mso-bidi-font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;;
mso-ansi-language:EN-GB"><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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SUIT NO. H1/102/2014&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;&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: 26TH
MARCH, 2015<o:p></o:p>

</div>COUNSEL:&nbsp;&nbsp; <o:p></o:p>MR. SOMUAH ASAMOAH FOR
RESPONDENTS<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
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MR.
PHILIP JIMANOR FOR APPELLANT<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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OWUSU
M. (PRESIDING), ADUAMA OSEI J.A., SOWAH J.A.<o:p></o:p>

</div>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <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="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:
.0001pt;mso-add-space:auto;text-align:center;border:none;mso-border-bottom-alt:
solid windowtext 1.5pt;padding:0in;mso-padding-alt:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in">JUDGMENT<o:p></o:p>

</div>MARIAMA
OWUSU, J.A:<o:p></o:p>On
20-10-2011, the High Court, Accra, in its judgment held among other things as
follows:<o:p></o:p>“In
conclusion I enter judgment for the plaintiff for relief (a) endorsed on their
writ of summons and confer ownership of House No. D453/3 Arena, Accra on all
the surviving children of the late Daniel Maxwell Laryea.&nbsp; The defenda nt is further restrained from
ejecting the plaintiffs from the said house.<o:p></o:p>On
the evidence, I am unable to declare the defendant sole legal and beneficial
owner of the property because the gift inter vivos on which he relied was not
conclusively proved.&nbsp; <o:p></o:p>Secondly,
his senior brothers before him conducted the management of the property to the
benefit of all the children.&nbsp; Thirdly,
the defendant by his own evidence recognized the beneficial interest of the
plaintiffs in the property.&nbsp; Defendant
also admitted that the father’s signature on Exhibit 2 is not his normal
signature explaining that it is on account of some 40 years difference.&nbsp; Above all, the court has found the male
siblings to have waived their rights to exclusive ownership if any. &nbsp;Since the GH¢2,000 paid to each plaintiff were
monies received from the contractor to enable him redevelop the property and
not normal rents from sitting tenants the defendant is likely to be called upon
to refund same following the plaintiffs’ failure to relocate to permit the
contractor to carry on his work.&nbsp;
Accordingly, it would be unfair to permit the plaintiffs to keep those
monies and thereby burden the defendant to solely shoulder the burden of a refund.<o:p></o:p>I
will therefore order the defendant to recover from the plaintiffs the
following:<o:p></o:p>i.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
GH¢2,500
each from 1st</sup</main>