GEORALLI COMPANY LTD vs. MR. WILLIAM URI TAY & ANOR [2017]DLHC6281

Date	2017-07-04
Suit No.	Suit No. RPC/476/12
Citation No.	[2017]DLHC6281

JENNIFER DODOO (MRS)

GODWIN TAMAKLO FOR PLAINTIFF

DR. KWEKU AINUSON FOR DEFENDANT

[2017]DLHC6281
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >GEORALLI COMPANY LTD<o:p></o:p>{PLAINTIFF}<o:p></o:p>vs.<o:p></o:p>MR. WILLIAM URI TAY &amp; ANOR<o:p></o:p>{DEFENDANTS}<o:p></o:p>[HIGH
COURT (COMMERCIAL DIVISION), 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">

Suit No. RPC/476/12&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &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: 4TH JULY 2017<o:p></o:p>

</div>COUNSEL:
<o:p></o:p>GODWIN TAMAKLO FOR PLAINTIFF<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
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DR. KWEKU AINUSON FOR DEFENDANT<o:p></o:p>

</div>CORAM:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <o:p></o:p>JENNIFER DODOO (MRS) JUSTICE OF THE
HIGH COURT<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border-top:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
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<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center;line-height:115%;
border:none;mso-border-top-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;mso-border-bottom-alt:
solid windowtext 1.5pt;padding:0in;mso-padding-alt:1.0pt 0in 1.0pt 0in">JUDGMENT<o:p></o:p>

</div><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>The Plaintiff which described itself
as a limited liability company instituted suit against the Defendants claiming
an amount of GH¢141,780.80 together with interest and costs.&nbsp; <o:p></o:p>&nbsp;<o:p></o:p>The Plaintiff’s case according to
its Statement of Claim was that the Defendants and the Plaintiff’s Managing
Director were friends.&nbsp; The parties had
entered into an oral contract for the Plaintiff to purchase land and build a 5
bedroom house and a 2 bedroom outhouse on it for the Defendants who lived in
the United Kingdom.&nbsp; The contract was
later varied from the previous specifications to incorporate a 7 bedroom house
and a 2 room outhouse.&nbsp; According to the
Plaintiff, the project excluding the purchase of the land, documentation fees
and lawyer’s fees was estimated at GH¢210,200.00.&nbsp; The Defendants were to remit money from the
United Kingdom to fund the project.&nbsp; <o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>It was the Plaintiff’s contention that
the Defendants at a point in time stopped the Plaintiff from working on the
project.&nbsp; The Plaintiff claimed the sum
of GH¢141,780.00 as being the outstanding balance owed to it at the time it
ceased working on the project.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>The Defendants in their defence
denied entering into a contract with the Plaintiff and said they had rather
entered into a contract with the Plaintiff’s Managing Director in his personal
capacity to embark on the construction of a dwelling house.&nbsp; They denied that the Plaintiff purchased any
land on their behalf saying that they personally negotiated for the purchase of
the land and that the only role the Plaintiff’s Managing Director played was to
view the land, arrange for a lawyer to draft the necessary papers and to make
payment for the land.&nbsp; They denied being
indebted to the Plaintiff in the sum claimed stating that there had been a
review in the figure of GH¢210,200.00 that had been presented to them as the
estimated cost of the building.&nbsp; They had
made available a total amount of GH¢177,250.40 to the Plaintiff’s Managing
Director for the construction works.&nbsp; He
had also according to them, borrowed an amount of GH¢1,060.00 from the
Defendants which to date remained unpaid<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>They contended that the Plaintiff
had operated a block making factory on their land without their consent.&nbsp; They therefore made a counterclaim against
the Plaintiff and Plaintiff’s Managing Director jointly for the following
reliefs:<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p><ol style="margin-top:0in" start="1" type="a">
 <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:115%;mso-list:l2 level1 lfo1">The sum of GH¢1,060.00 being
 the total amount of money Plaintiff’s Managing Director borrowed which
 remains unpaid.<o:p></o:p></li>
 <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:115%;mso-list:l2 level1 lfo1">Interest on the said
 GH¢1,060.00 at the commercial bank rate from 2010 until date of final
 payment.<o:p></o:p></li>
 <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:115%;mso-list:l2 level1 lfo1">Damages for breach of contract<o:p></o:p></li>
 <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:115%;mso-list:l2 level1 lfo1">Damages for trespass to land<o:p></o:p></li>
 <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:115%;mso-list:l2 level1 lfo1">Costs including legal fees.<o:p></o:p></li>
</ol><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>The Plaintiff in its reply stated
that the money being counterclaimed for was money used in carrying out extra
work on the Defendant’s building such as the provision of worktop for kitchen
cabinets and curtain rails.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>The issues forwarded to this court
for trial were:<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p><ol style="margin-top:0in" start="1" type="1">
 <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:115%;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo2">Whether or not the Defendants
 and the Plaintiffs to the Counterclaim entered into contract with the
 Plaintiff or the Defendant to the counterclaim?<o:p></o:p></li>
 <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:115%;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo2">Whether or not the Defendants
 located, negotiated and paid for the land themselves?<o:p></o:p></li>
 <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:115%;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo2">Whether or not the sum of
 GH¢177,250.00 represents the value of the property as at the time the
 Plaintiff was made to stop work, after deduction of the cost of the land
 GH¢80,000.00?<o:p></o:p></li>
 <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:115%;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo2">Whether or not the parties
 agreed on a total cost of GH¢210,200.00 for the constructi</main>