PROFESSOR EBENEZER ESSUMAN AND DR. ADWOA GUAMFUA ESSUMAN vs. GHASSAN BITAR AND 3 OTHERS [2019]DLCA6330

PROFESSOR EBENEZER ESSUMAN AND DR. ADWOA GUAMFUA ESSUMAN vs. GHASSAN BITAR AND 3... [2019]DLCA6330

Date	2019-02-27
Suit No.	CIVIL APPEAL NO. H1/61/18
Citation No.	[2019]DLCA6330

JUSTICE IRENE C. LARBI (MRS) J.A. (PRESIDING)

JUSTICE LAWRENCE L. MENSAH J.A.

JUSTICE ANGELINA M. DOMAKYAAREH (MRS) J.A.

EMMANUEL ARTHUR ESQ. FOR THE PLAINTIFFS/APPELLANTS.

BEN ACKAAH-GYASI ESQ. FOR THE 1ST AND 3RD DEFENDANTS/RESPONDENTS.

JOHN MERCER ESQ. FOR THE 4TH DEFENDANT/CROSS-APPELLANT.

[2019]DLCA6330
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >PROFESSOR
EBENEZER ESSUMAN AND DR. ADWOA GUAMFUA ESSUMAN<o:p></o:p>(PLAINTIFFS/APPELLANTS)<o:p></o:p>vs.<o:p></o:p>GHASSAN
BITAR AND 3 OTHERS<o:p></o:p>(DFENDANTS/RESPONDENTS/
APPELLANT)<o:p></o:p>[COURT OF APPEAL, CAPE COAST]<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. H1/61/18&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; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;DATE: 27TH
FEBRUARY, 2019<o:p></o:p>

</div>COUNSEL: <o:p></o:p>EMMANUEL
ARTHUR ESQ. FOR THE PLAINTIFFS/APPELLANTS.<o:p></o:p>BEN
ACKAAH-GYASI ESQ. FOR THE 1ST AND 3RD
DEFENDANTS/RESPONDENTS.<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">

JOHN
MERCER ESQ. FOR THE 4TH DEFENDANT/CROSS-APPELLANT.<o:p></o:p>

</div>CORAM: <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">

JUSTICE
IRENE C. LARBI (MRS), J.A. (PRESIDING), JUSTICE LAWRENCE L. MENSAH, J.A. AND
JUSTICE ANGELINA M. DOMAKYAAREH (MRS), J.A.<o:p></o:p>

</div><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in">

<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;
text-align:center;mso-outline-level:1;border:none;mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0in;mso-padding-alt:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in">JUDGMENT<o:p></o:p>

</div>LAWRENCE L. MENSAH, J.A.<o:p></o:p>This
is an appeal against the judgment of the High Court, Sekondi dated 31st
July 2017.&nbsp; The appeal is launched by the
Plaintiffs/Appellants who will be referred to as the Plaintiffs against whom
the judgment was entered in favour of the 1st and 3rd
Defendants/Respondents who will be referred in this judgment as 1st
and 3rd Defendants.&nbsp; There is
also a cross-appeal by the 4th Defendant/Appellant against the said
judgment and he will be referred to in this judgment simply as the 4th
Defendant.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>FACTS:<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; This is a comparatively huge land
appeal with several amendments of the parties.&nbsp;
Because the parties are many and have different interests in the
disputed land, the facts of the case has to be isolated so as to clear the twists
and turns of the case.&nbsp; What this means
is that the facts of each party’s case will be given and which are briefly as
follows:&nbsp; The Plaintiffs who are a
Ghanaian married couple are ordinarily resident in the United States of
America.&nbsp; The 1st Plaintiff
from his own evidence comes from Princess Town, a town situate between Takoradi
and Ahanta West District of the Western Region.&nbsp;
Princess Town is the area around which the disputed land is situate
specifically at Modrekenle.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; According to the 1st
Plaintiff who also testified for the 2nd Plaintiff his wife
aforesaid, he jointly acquired the disputed land in 2003 from Nana Fabin
Amantwe III of the royal Majolley family of Egyambra for valuable
consideration.&nbsp; The 1st
Plaintiff said he first contacted the 3rd Defendant who created the
impression that he was the owner of the disputed land.&nbsp; He paid an initial amount to Nana Toku III
the predecessor of the current 3rd Defendant.&nbsp; However, upon a search at the National
Archives, they Plaintiffs discovered that the disputed land was not after all
for the 3rd Defendant.&nbsp; They
therefore abandoned dealing with the 3rd Defendant.&nbsp; This is because certain archival documents
from the National Archives proved that the disputed land was owned by the 4th
Defendant’s Stool.&nbsp; They therefore got
the necessary documentation for the disputed land from Nana Fabian Amantwe III
aforesaid.&nbsp; It is to be mentioned that
the Amantwe stool is a rival stool to the Amoo stool at Egyambra, a divisional
town within the Ahanta West District.<o:p></o:p><o:p></main>