LAWRENCE KWESI OWUSU vs. NII ABOSSEY DJANE & 3 ORS [2017]DLHC16561

Date	2017-05-05
Suit No.	SUIT NO. FAL/91/2015
Citation No.	[2017]DLHC16561

HIS LORDSHIP K. A. GYIMAH

BRIGHT OKYERE ADJEKUM WITH MAAME SARPONG FOR PLAINTIFF

SAMANI ZACHARY FOR 2ND DEFENDANT

[2017]DLHC16561
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >LAWRENCE KWESI OWUSU <o:p></o:p>(PLAINTIFF)<o:p></o:p>vs.<o:p></o:p>NII ABOSSEY DJANE &amp; 3
ORS&nbsp; 
<o:p></o:p>(DEFENDANTS)<o:p></o:p>[HIGH
COURT, ACCRA]<o:p></o:p><div style="border-top: none; border-right: none; border-left: none; border-image: initial; border-bottom-width: 1.5pt; border-bottom-color: windowtext; padding: 0cm 0cm 1pt;">

SUIT NO. FAL/91/2015&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;DATE:
5TH&nbsp;MAY 2017<o:p></o:p>

</div>COUNSEL<o:p></o:p>BRIGHT
OKYERE ADJEKUM WITH MAAME SARPONG FOR PLAINTIFF,<o:p></o:p><div style="border-top: none; border-right: none; border-left: none; border-image: initial; border-bottom-width: 1.5pt; border-bottom-color: windowtext; padding: 0cm 0cm 1pt;">

</div>CORAM<o:p></o:p><div style="border-top: none; border-right: none; border-left: none; border-image: initial; border-bottom-width: 1.5pt; border-bottom-color: windowtext; padding: 0cm 0cm 1pt;">

</div>&nbsp;<div style="border-top: none; border-right: none; border-left: none; border-image: initial; border-bottom-width: 1.5pt; border-bottom-color: windowtext; padding: 0cm 0cm 1pt;">

JUDGMENT<o:p></o:p>

</div>Preliminary
Comments<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;In a reply filed to 2nd
Defendant’s Address on 21st April 2017, Counsel for the plaintiff
called upon the court to “pay deaf ears to the submissions of the 2nd
Defendant and grant Plaintiff his claims”.&nbsp;
With all due respect to Counsel for the plaintiff, this court sits to
administer justice after having heard evidence and submissions from parties and
their counsel. It is the duty of the court to evaluate the evidence led, in
line with the law, being guided by the submissions made by the parties in the
form of written addresses filed by the parties and give a reasoned
judgment.&nbsp; It will be a travesty of
justice for a judge “to pay deaf ears” to the submissions of one party.&nbsp; I will therefore proceed to evaluate the
respective cases of the parties in line with the law and give my final verdict
on the case.<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;Although this is an action that was
instituted against four defendants, it was only the 2nd defendant
that participated fully in the trial as it is his interest that is at
stake.&nbsp; The contest in this matter is
therefore basically between the Plaintiff and the 2nd
defendant.&nbsp; <o:p></o:p>&nbsp;Parties’
roots of title<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;Both the plaintiff and the 2nd
defendant trace the root of their respective titles to the Klanaa family of La,
Accra which has its head as Nii Kotey Amli III.&nbsp;
The plaintiff traces his root of title through one of the sons of Nii
Kotey Amli III by name Nii Kotey Djane.&nbsp;
The 2nd defendant also traces his root of title to another
son of Nii Kotey Amli III by name Nii Abossey Djane, the 1st
defendant in this suit.<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;Plaintiff’s
case<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;It is the plaintiff’s case that he
purchased the land in dispute from El Shaddai properties around October –
November 2003 who had also obtained the land from the Nungua Stool acting per
its head Nii Odai Ayiku.&nbsp; The plaintiff
asserts that he later got to know that Nii Kotey Amli’s Klanaa family of La had
obtained a judgment against the Nungua Stool over the land and as such he went
to attorn tenancy to the family in order not to lose his land. He claims that
when he met Nii Kotey Amli, the head of the Klanaa family of La in order to
attorn tenancy to the family, he was directed to see his son Nii Kotey Djane
because the family had already transferred the land in question to him sometime
in 1996. <o:p></o:p>&nbsp;The plaintiff asserts that he went to
see the said Nii Kotey Djane who by a Deed of Assignment dated 24th
June 2005, assigned all his interest in the land in dispute to the
plaintiff.&nbsp; It is the plaintiff’s case
that when he initially purchased the land from El Shaddai properties, they had
constructed a short fence wall around the land with two metal gates for access
to the property and there was also a structure on the land with a shed and a
caretaker living on the land with his family.&nbsp;
The plaintiff claims that after the initial purchase, he took immediate
possession and maintained his grantor’s caretaker to take care of the land on
his behalf.&nbsp; He further asserts that he
had been clearing the land from time to time since he initially purchased the
land.<o:p></o:p>