RIAD HOZAIFEH vs. SCANCOM (GHANA) LTD [2018]DLHC6270

Date	2018-05-24
Suit No.	Suit No. OCC/35/15
Citation No.	[2018]DLHC6270

JENNIFER DODOO (MRS)

SAMUEL BAIMBIL-JOHNSON FOR PLAINTIFF

BENSON NUTSUKPUI FOR DEFENDANT

[2018]DLHC6270
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >RIAD HOZAIFEH<o:p></o:p>{PLAINTIFF}<o:p></o:p>vs.<o:p></o:p>SCANCOM (GHANA) LTD<o:p></o:p>[DEFENDANT}<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;
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Suit No. OCC/35/15&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &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: 24TH MAY 2018<o:p></o:p>

</div>COUNSEL:
<o:p></o:p>SAMUEL BAIMBIL-JOHNSON 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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BENSON NUTSUKPUI 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>Oral
Contracts entered into on behalf of limited liability companies<o:p></o:p>Persons
claiming to act as company’s agent<o:p></o:p>Whether
or not action was statute-barred?<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>In his Amended Writ and Statement of
Claim filed on 27th November 2015, the Plaintiff claimed against the
Defendant 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">General Damages for breach of
 contract resulting from the Defendant’s failure to pay the annual sum of
 $200,000.00; monthly payment/allowance of $5,000.00 and the shutting down
 of Plaintiff’s unrestricted and free use of all facilities and packages of
 the phone numbers assigned to the Plaintiff.<o:p></o:p></li>
 <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:115%;mso-list:l2 level1 lfo1">Special Damages of
 $3,400,000.00 being the arrears or outstanding payment owed and due the
 Plaintiff from 1998 to date<o:p></o:p></li>
 <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:115%;mso-list:l2 level1 lfo1">Special Damages of $330,000.00
 being the total outstanding monthly payment from the second half of 2009
 (July 2009) till February 2015.<o:p></o:p></li>
 <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:115%;mso-list:l2 level1 lfo1">An order directed at the
 Defendant to continue to pay the Plaintiff all the sums agreed upon under
 the agreement for Plaintiff’s life or in the alternative to pay the
 Plaintiff 20% of the present value of the Defendant Company.<o:p></o:p></li>
 <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:115%;mso-list:l2 level1 lfo1">An order directing the
 Defendant Company to restore to the Plaintiff unrestricted use of the
 phone numbers assigned to the Plaintiff on the Defendant Company’s
 network.<o:p></o:p></li>
 <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:115%;mso-list:l2 level1 lfo1">Interest at the prevailing Bank
 of Ghana rate on (a) and (b) from the date of the issuance of this writ
 till date of final payment.<o:p></o:p></li>
 <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:115%;mso-list:l2 level1 lfo1">Costs including cost of legal
 representation assessed at 10% of total damages awarded.<o:p></o:p></li>
</ol><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>It was the Plaintiff’s case as set
forth in his Statement of Claim that sometime in 1996, he had been approached
by one Subhi Accad acting on behalf of Investcom LLC, the then majority
shareholder of the Defendant Company to intervene on its behalf for the reissuance
of its communications licence which had been revoked by the Ministry of
Communications.&nbsp; Subhi Accad had informed
the Plaintiff that he had the authority of Taha Mikati, Najib Mikati and Azmi
Mikati in their capacities as Chairman, Vice President and Chief Executive
Officer of Investcom LLC to enlist his assistance in the matter.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>According to the Plaintiff, his
intervention with the then Minister of Communications, Hon. Edward Salia proved
successful and the licence was restored within 4 months after his intercession.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>In consideration for his efforts in
getting the licence restored, the Plaintiff averred that the Defendant Company
through its agents informed him that he had been assigned 20% shares in the
Company.&nbsp; However, these shares had been
issued not in his own name, but in the name of one Richmond Aggrey.&nbsp; Since he did not know the said Richmond
Aggrey, he protested and advised the Defendant to retrieve these shares.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>Consequently, a meeting was convened
at Golden Tulip Hotel in Accra where the appropriate remuneration for his
efforts was discussed. It was his case that at that meeting, an annual sum of
$200,000.00 representing 20% of the Defendant’s net worth at the time and a
monthly sum of $5,000.00 was agreed upon.&nbsp;
In addition to this, he was to be assigned the unrestricted use of 5
phone numbers on the Defendant’s network.&nbsp;
<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>The Plaintiff stated that he had had
the unrestricted use of these 5 lines until 2012.&nbsp; He also contended that he had in furtherance
of the agreement received from the Defendant the annual sum of $200,000.00 for
a period of 2 years.&nbsp; He also continued
to receive the monthly sum of $5,000.00 until 2009 when the Defendant ceased
payment.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>