BRENDA VERONICA WARREN AND ORTHER vs. SAM OKUDZETO AND 3 OTHERS [2015]DLCA8286

Date	2015-11-12
Suit No.	CIVIL APPEAL: HI/183/2012
Citation No.	[2015]DLCA8286

MARIAMA OWUSU (JA) PRESIDING

AVRIL LOVELACE- JOHNSON (JA)

SAEED K.GYAN (JA)

MS. STEPHANIE AMARTEIFIO FOR 1ST & 3RD DEFENDANTS/RESPONDENTS

MR. AYIKOI OTOO WITH KWAKU NELSON JONES NAA DJAMA AYIKOI OTOO

AND JOYCELYN NAAA AMERLEY ASHIDAN FOR THE CO-DEFENDANT/RESPONDENT

[2015]DLCA8286
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >BRENDA VERONICA WARREN AND
ORTHER<o:p></o:p>(PLAINTIFFS/APPELLANTS)<o:p></o:p><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,serif;
mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;;mso-bidi-font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;;
color:#00B0F0">vs.<o:p></o:p>SAM OKUDZETO AND 3 OTHERS<o:p></o:p>(DEFENDANTS/RESPONDENTS)<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;
padding:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm">

CIVIL APPEAL: HI/183/2012&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: 12TH NOV, 2015<o:p></o:p>

</div>COUNSEL:<o:p></o:p>MS. STEPHANIE AMARTEIFIO FOR 1ST &amp; 3RD
DEFENDANTS/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. AYIKOI OTOO, WITH
KWAKU NELSON JONES, NAA DJAMA AYIKOI OTOO AND JOYCELYN NAAA AMERLEY ASHIDAN FOR
THE CO-DEFENDANT/RESPONDENT<o:p></o:p>

</div><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>CORAM:<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm">

MARIAMA
OWUSU (JA) PRESIDING, AVRIL LOVELACE- JOHNSON (JA), SAEED K.GYAN (JA)<o:p></o:p>

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

</div>SAEED K. GYAN,<o:p></o:p>Were
lamentations and mere passion to be an index for success in litigation I would
clearly have said that the Plaintiff/Appellant herein would have scored maximum
marks. The circumstances of this case appear to evoke tearful sympathy, and may
in some way even possibly be regarded as tragic.&nbsp; However, as may be recalled, Wiredu, JSC (as
he then was) in perhaps a similar difficult situation mournfully declared in
the Supreme Court case of DEI XI Vrs.
DARKE XII (1991) 2GLR 318 at page 341 as follows:<o:p></o:p>&nbsp; “My sympathies no doubt are with the
applicants but I take consolation in what has been said else where that Judicial Sympathy, however plausible,
should not be elevated to a principle of law..”<o:p></o:p>Wiredu,
JSC equally pointed out rather sagaciously in FRIMPONG VRS. NYARKO [1998-99] SC GLR 734 at page
742 that the “Justice to be dispensed
is justice within the law and not one of sympathy”.<o:p></o:p>This
is an appeal from the Judgment of the High Court, Accra, dated 28th
March,2006.&nbsp; The trial High Court by its
said decision dismissed the challenge mounted by the Plaintiff/Appellant herein
against the grant of probate to the three Defendants/Executors/Respondents
herein in respect of the Last Will and Testament of one Verna Eloise Warren a deceased Jamaican long time resident
of Ghana who died in Accra on 20th October,2002.&nbsp; <o:p></o:p>The
Will concerning which the Executors aforesaid sought probate, after it had been
read at the Registry of the High Court upon the death of the testatrix, and
against which the Plaintiff/Appellant filed Notice of Caveat, was dated 25th
January,2002.&nbsp; Having rejected the
Plaintiffs’ challenge the High Court then made a determination that the
Executors had successfully proved the impugned Will in Solemn form and
accordingly granted probate to the Executors.&nbsp;
It is this determination of the trial High Court that the
Plaintiff/Appellant (hereafter referred to as Appellant) is dissatisfied by and
aggrieved with and for which reason she is before the Court of Appeal seeking
its reversal.<o:p></o:p>The
matter in the Court below ended up as a&nbsp;
consolidated suit. The original case namely, Suit No_ PD 46/2003, was
filed by the Executors of the Last Will of Verna Eloise Warren, in the persons
of Sam Okudzeto, Eunice Brookman-Amissah and Prof. Ablade-Glover, who sought to
prove the Will in common form pursuant to Order 1 of the Probate and
Administration Rules LI 1515.&nbsp; This
application, as noted earlier on, was caveated by the daughter of the deceased,
Brenda Veronica Warren (the Appellant herein) together with her mother, Ruth
Allen.<o:p></o:p>Subsequently,
the caveatrixes instituted Suit No_FA70/2003 against the Executors seeking
certain reliefs in respect of the Estate of the late Verna Eloise Warren. The two
matters were later consolidated by Order of the High Court.<o:p></o:p>The
consolidated cases were merged and given a composite Suit Number, namely, AHR
5/2003. Before the trial commenced at the High Court, the 2nd
Plaintiff, Ruth Allen was reported to the Court to have died in Jamaica. No
step was taken to substitute her. The case herein therefore went to trial with
only one Plaintiff, the Appellant.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>Furthermore,
Sophia Vanderpuije-Orgle, a substantial beneficiary of the Will of the late
Verna Eloise Warren, applied and was joined to the case and was&nbsp; designated Co-Defendant.<o:p></o:p>At
the trial, the Defendants, excluding the Co-Defendant, were represented by one
law firm, Kujawu &amp; Co, headed by&nbsp;
Stanley Amartefion, Esq. &nbsp;The
Co-Defendant&nbsp; was represented by Lawyer
Cudjoe of Law Trust. The Plaintiff/Appellant herein was represented by Mrs.
F.R. ATTRAM of Marita chambers.<o:p></o:p>