NUMO ADJEI KWANKO II vs. LEBANON SOCIETY, LANDS COMMISSSION AND LAND TITLE REGISTRY [2016]DLSC2786

NUMO ADJEI KWANKO II vs. LEBANON SOCIETY, LANDS COMMISSSION AND LAND TITLE REGIS... [2016]DLSC2786

Date	2016-11-29
Suit No.	CIVIL APPEAL NO. J4/8/2015
Citation No.	[2016]DLSC2786

ANSAH JSC (PRESIDING)

ANIN YEBOAH JSC

BAFFOE- BONNIE JSC

GBADEGBE JSC

AKOTO- BAMFO (MRS) JSC

JAMES AHENIKORAH FOR THE 1ST DEFENDANT/APPELLANT/APPELLANT.

KWAME FOSU GYEABOUR FOR THE PLAINTIFF/RESPONDENT/RESPONDENT.

[2016]DLSC2786
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >NUMO ADJEI KWANKO II<o:p></o:p>vs.<o:p></o:p>LEBANON SOCIETY, LANDS
COMMISSSION AND LAND TITLE REGISTRY<o:p></o:p><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;
mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;;mso-bidi-font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;;
color:#00B0F0">&nbsp;[SUPREME COURT, ACCRA]<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in">

CIVIL
APPEAL NO. J4/8/2015&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: 29TH NOVEMBER, 2016<o:p></o:p>

</div>COUNSEL:&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;
<o:p></o:p>JAMES AHENIKORAH FOR THE 1ST
DEFENDANT/APPELLANT/APPELLANT.<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in">

KWAME
FOSU GYEABOUR FOR THE PLAINTIFF/RESPONDENT/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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ANSAH JSC (PRESIDING), ANIN&nbsp; YEBOAH&nbsp;
JSC,&nbsp; BAFFOE- BONNIE JSC, GBADEGBE
JSC, AND AKOTO- BAMFO (MRS)&nbsp; JSC &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;&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><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
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JUDGEMENT<o:p></o:p>

</div>ANSAH JSC: <o:p></o:p>On
29-11-2016, this court dismissed the appeal brought&nbsp; against the judgment of the Court of Appeal
dated 18 November 2013, and reserved our reasons for so ruling which we proceed
to deliver now. The said Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal against the judgment
of the High Court, Accra, given in favor of the plaintiff at the trial but the
respondent in the appeal at the Court of Appeal and in this court.<o:p></o:p>Aggrieved
by the judgment of the Court of Appeal, the first defendant appealed to this
court on the grounds that:<o:p></o:p>“1 The judgment of
the Court of Appeal is wrong because it completely flies in the face of the
Land Title Registration Law and its underlying theory of getting rid of the
necessity of investigating all over again the title of the vendor with its
attendant doctrine of notice applicable under the land Registry Act each time
the land or interest therein comes to be dealt with, once title to the land
gets registered under the Land Title Registration Law.<o:p></o:p>2 The Court of
Appeal committed error by rejecting the general principles governing the land
title registration system counsel quoted because, in its opinion, they are
principles from foreign authorities which do not bind it, regardless of their
high persuasiveness.<o:p></o:p>3 The Court of
Appeal misdirected itself in seeing nothing wrong with the plaintiff’s family
seeking to rely on the alleged excess between the term of years granted to the
Lebanon Society and the grantor’s own term of years as an element of fraud to
challenge the Society’s registered title when there is no privity of state or
interest existing between the family as landlord and the Society’s grant or as
tenant in any way prejudiced by the grant.<o:p></o:p>4 The finding that
the terms of years granted to the Society was in excess of the term of years the
grantor himself held is against the weight of evidence.<o:p></o:p>5 The Court of
Appeal misdirected itself in law when it failed to appreciate that the
statutory declaration relied upon by the plaintiff as the root of his family’s
title to the land in dispute is a mere self-serving document of title to land
in dispute which can have no greater validity than a registered title to that
land guaranteed by the state.<o:p></o:p>6 The statutory
declaration relied upon as the root of the plaintiff’s title to the land in
dispute is ultra </main>