RIGWORL INTERNATIONAL SERVICES LIMITED vs. SOCIETE GENERALE GHANA LIMITED [2018]DLHC11584

Date	2018-07-12
Suit No.	SUIT NO. CM/BDC/0654/16
Citation No.	[2018]DLHC11584

HER LADYSHIP JUSTICE AKUA SARPOMAA AMOAH (MRS.)

ALFRED BUATSI FOR PLAINTIFF PRESENT

COUNSEL FOR DEFENDANT ABSENT

[2018]DLHC11584
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >RIGWORL INTERNATIONAL SERVICES LIMITED<o:p></o:p>(PLAINTIFF)<o:p></o:p>vs.<o:p></o:p>SOCIETE GENERALE GHANA LIMITED<o:p></o:p>(DEFENDANT)<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;">

</div>COUNSEL: <o:p></o:p>ALFRED
BUATSI FOR PLAINTIFF PRESENT<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;">

COUNSEL FOR DEFENDANT ABSENT<o:p></o:p>

</div>CORAM:<o:p></o:p>HER
LADYSHIP JUSTICE AKUA SARPOMAA AMOAH (MRS.)<o:p></o:p><div style="border-top-width: 1.5pt; border-top-color: windowtext; border-left: none; border-bottom-width: 1.5pt; border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-right: none; padding: 1pt 0cm;">

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

</div>&nbsp;The Plaintiff, in the
present suit, seeks the following reliefs against the Defendant;<o:p></o:p>a) A
declaration that the Defendant was not entitled to debit the account with the amount
on the email instruction from koabban.rigworld servicesltd@gmail.com.<o:p></o:p>b)
The repayment of the sum of Fifteen Thousand United States Dollars (US$15,000.00)
being the amount purportedly transferred by the email instruction.<o:p></o:p>c)
Interest on the said sum at the contractual rate from April 28, 2016 up to date
of actual and final payment.<o:p></o:p>d)
Damages for breach of contract.<o:p></o:p>e)
Costs including Legal Fees being 10% of the sum claimed in relief (b) above.<o:p></o:p>The Plaintiff’s case is that
it is a Ghanaian registered company having its registered office at Number 11,
Patrice Lumumba Street, Capital Place, Airport Residential Area, Accra. The Defendant,
also registered and operating under the laws of Ghana, is a bank and engaged in
the business of Universal Banking. The Plaintiff says that as an account holder
of Defendant bank, it is mandated to instruct the Defendant to honour payment
instructions via email. The email address as officially agreed between the
Parties for such transactions is koabban@rigworldservicesltd.com (Indemnified
Email Address)<o:p></o:p>On or about the 28th
day of April, 2016, the Defendant honoured a transfer instruction purportedly
issued by Plaintiff for the transfer of Fifteen Thousand United States Dollars (US$15,000.00)
in favour of one Y.O. Salawu. As it turned out, the said transfer instruction, to
the said Y.O. Salawu emanated from an unauthorized email address being koabban.rigworldservicesltd@gmail.com
(Forged Email Address). Plaintiff avers that the said transfer was neither
drawn nor authorized by it. Plaintiff contends further, that the Defendant has
been negligent in effecting a transfer of Plaintiff’s funds from the forged email
address. It particularized Defendant’s negligence as the Defendant’s failure to
observe its duty of care to the Plaintiff which led to the Defendant honouring
payment instructions from an email address other than that agreed upon by the
Parties. Plaintiff says that it has suffered losses as a result of the
unwarranted debit of its account by Defendant, following the unauthorized
transfer. The Defendant however, despite persistent calls on it to refund the
said Fifteen Thousand United States Dollars (US$15,000.00) has failed or
refused to do so hence the present suit.<o:p></o:p>The Defendant denies
Plaintiff’s claims. It maintains that the email address from which it received
instructions to transfer the said Fifteen Thousand United States Dollars (US$15,000.00)
to Y.O. Salawu was the indemnified email address being koabban@rigworldservicesltd.com
and not koabban.rigworldservices@gmail.com as asserted by Plaintiff. According
to the Defendant, it had, prior to the said instruction, received a request
from the Plaintiff for the transfer of Five Thousand United States Dollars
(US$5,000.00) from the indemnified address, which had been provided by the Plaintiff
on an Email Indemnity Form dated and executed on the 28th day of October, 2015.
That particular payment was effected after several attempts to reach the
Managing Director of Plaintiff on phone had proved futile. Defendant therefore
requested the Managing Director to send signed funds transfer instructions,
which was received by the Defendant on the 27th day of April, 2016. That very
day the Plaintiff’s Managing Director via the indemnified email address
requested the SWIFT transfer advice for the said amount of Five Thousand United
States Dollars (US$5,000.00) which advice was duly provided by the Defendant
and receipt of which the Plaintiff duly acknowledged through the indemnified email
address.<o:p></o:p>Subsequently, the Defendant,
on the 28th day of April, 2016, received another transfer request from the
indemnified email address for the transfer of an amount of Fifteen Thousand
United States Dollars (US$15,000.00) to Y.O. Salawu with Account Number 42174826
with Satander Bank, Bradford, West Yorkshire in the United Kingdom which it honoured.
The Defendant denies Plaintiff’s assertion that the instruction for the
transfer of the said Fifteen Thousand United States Dollars (US$15,000.00)
emanated from the forged email address and not the indemnified address provided
on the Email Indemnity Form. &nbsp;Defendant
further denies Plaintiff’s charges of negligence and says that upon receiving Plaintiff’s
complaints about the alleged unauthorized transfers, it had, without
necessarily admitting liability, made several efforts at helping Plaintiff
retrieve the said funds but was only successful with the retrieval of the
amount of Five Thousand United States Dollars (US$5,000.00) which had been
transferred to an account with the GT Bank. The Fifteen Thousand United States
Dollars (US$15,000.00) transferred to Satander Bank was however not retrieved
as the same had been withdrawn from the beneficiary account. It says that it duly
discharged its duty of care to the Plaintiff as customer with diligence and
without negligence.<o:p></o:p>Four (4) issues were set
down for trial namely:<o:p></o:p>1.
Whether or not the instructions to pay Fifteen Thousand United States Dollars (US$15,000.00)
to Y.O. Salawu emanated from Plaintiff.<o:p></o:p>