ADOLPH TETTEH ADJEI vs. ANAS AREMEYAW ANAS AND HOLY QUAYE [2018]DLCA6172

Date	2018-11-29
Suit No.	CIVIL APPEAL NO.H1/107/2018
Citation No.	[2018]DLCA6172

AGNES M. A. DORDZIE (MRS.) J.A. (AS SHE THEN WAS) (PRESIDING)

F. G. KORBIEH J.A.

I. O.TANKO AMADU J.A.

EMMANUEL BRIGHT ATOKOH APPEARING WITH FRANCIS OFFIN PEARL

SADAH AND FRIDA AMOAKO FOR THE PLAINTIFF/APPELLANT

MR. DAVID AMETEFE FOR THE DEFENDANTS/RESPONDENTS

[2018]DLCA6172
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >ADOLPH TETTEH ADJEI<o:p></o:p>[APPELLANT]<o:p></o:p>vs.<o:p></o:p>ANAS AREMEYAW ANAS AND
HOLY QUAYE<o:p></o:p>[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:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in">

CIVIL APPEAL NO.H1/107/2018&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &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, 2018<o:p></o:p>

MR.
DAVID AMETEFE FOR THE DEFENDANTS/RESPONDENTS<o:p></o:p>

<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>F.G. KORBIEH, J.A.<o:p></o:p>This
is an interlocutory appeal arising from the trial High Court’s dismissal of the
plaintiff/appellant’s suit against the defendant/respondents mainly on grounds
of estoppel per rem judicatam. The plaintiff therefore mounted this appeal by
filing a notice of appeal which has the following grounds of appeal:<o:p></o:p>i)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The ruling is against the weight of
the affidavit evidence.<o:p></o:p>ii)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Court erred in law with the
determination that the doctrine of estoppel was applicable on the facts of the
case before it.<o:p></o:p>iii)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Court erred in its determination that
the subject land forms part of the judgment by His Lordship K. A. Ofori Atta in
Edward Mensah Tawiah and Ewormenyo Ofoli Kwashie v. The Acting Registrar of
Lands and the Trustees, East Dadekotopon Development Trust (Suit No.
BL.431/2006).<o:p></o:p>iv)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Court erred in its finding that the
Defendants/Applicants obtained the land in issue from the Ataa Tawiah
Tsinaiatse and Nuumo Kwashie families.<o:p></o:p>v)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The holding that the
Defendants/applicants/Respondents were privies in title of the plaintiffs in
Edward Mensah Tawiah and Ewormenyo Ofoli Kwashie v. The Acting Registrar of
Lands and the Trustees, East Dadekotopon Development Trust (Suit No.
BL.431/2006) is not supported by the facts.<o:p></o:p>vi)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Court erred in holding that the
consent judgment filed on the 20th March, 2015 at the Court of Appeal was not
properly procured; thereby upholding the ruling of His Lordship Anthony Kofi
Abada delivered on 3rd March, 2016 in Daniel Ofoli Ewernirnyo v. Edward Nsiah
Akuetteh (Suit No. BMISC.720/2015)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <o:p></o:p>The
relief the plaintiff is seeking from this Court is that the ruling of the trial
High Court should be set aside and the trial ordered to continue.<o:p></o:p>At
this juncture it will be expedient to narrate briefly the background facts of
the case leading to the appeal. The plaintiff/appellant (hereinafter referred
to simply as the plaintiff) sued out a writ from the registry of the Land Court
Division of the High Court, Accra on the 8th day of March, 2017 in which he
claimed against the defendants/respondents (hereinafter simply referred to as
the defendants) a declaration of title to a piece or parcel of land all of
whose boundaries were within East La Dadekotopon within the Greater Accra
Region, among other reliefs. He averred that he had acquired the land through a
sub-lease of 54 years less one day from a sublessor, La Hillsview Development
Limited and that he had registered his sublease and been granted a Land Title
Certificate No. GA. 46455 dated 26/2/2015. He further averred that the 1st
defendant, with the active connivance and encouragement of the 2nd defendant
had trespassed onto the land in dispute and was building on the land day and
night despite the repeated warnings of the plaintiff. The plaintiff had
simultaneously filed his writ of summons and statement of claim together with a
motion on notice for an order of interlocutory injunction to restrain the
defendants from proceeding any further with any work they were carrying on on
the land. Upon receipt of the plaintiff’s writ of summons, statement of claim
and notice of motion for interlocutory injunction, the defendants proceeded, on
the 25/3/2017, to file a motion on notice to dismiss the suit on the grounds
that the plaintiff was estopped from re-litigating a matter that was res
judicata or in the alternative was an abuse of the court process. In the main
and supplementary affidavits in support of the motion, the defendants deposed
to many things amongst which are the following: (i) the judgment of Ofori Atta,
J (attached as exhibit AAA2) declaring the land title of the Trust was void and
fraudulent and which he proceeded to cancel; (ii) the judgment of Anthony K.
Abada, J attached as exhibit AAA3) in which the Trust and others fraudulently
attempted to compromise the judgment of Ofori Atta, J on appeal but this was
nullified in a ruling which was binding on the Trust and its privies of which
the plaintiff is one, (iii) the plaintiff’s title documents procured during the
pendency of the suit/appeal attached as exhibit AAA4; (iv) that the 1st
defendant was a privy to the Ataa Tawiah Tsinaiatse and Numo Ofoli Kwashie
families of La, parties to the judgments/rulings mentioned above.&nbsp; The plaintiff naturally opposed the
application in an affidavit filed to that effect and deposed to the following
facts, amongst others: (a) that Suit No. BL. 431/2006 that the defendants had
so heavily relied on was titled <o:p></o:p>1.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Edward Mensah Tawiah<o:p></o:p>