BELINDA NELSON (DEFENDANT/APPELLANT) vs. GRACE BAFFOUR AWUAH (SUING PER ROBERT AWUAH) (PLAINTIFF/RESPONDENT) [2019]DLCA7751

BELINDA NELSON (DEFENDANT/APPELLANT) vs. GRACE BAFFOUR AWUAH (SUING PER ROBERT A... [2019]DLCA7751

Date	2019-07-25
Suit No.	CIVIL APPEAL NO: H1/66/2019
Citation No.	[2019]DLCA7751

KUSI-APPIAH J.A. – PRESIDING

KWOFIE J.A.

GAISIE (MRS.) J.A.

[2019]DLCA7751
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >BELINDA NELSON<o:p></o:p>(DEFENDANT/APPELLANT)<o:p></o:p><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;
line-height:115%;font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,serif;mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;;
mso-bidi-font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;;color:#00B0F0">vs.<o:p></o:p>GRACE BAFFOUR AWUAH (SUING PER ROBERT AWUAH)<o:p></o:p>(PLAINTIFF/RESPONDENT)<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</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:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm">

CIVIL
APPEAL NO:&nbsp; H1/66/2019&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; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;DATE: 25TH
JULY, 2019<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:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm">

KUSI-APPIAH
J.A. – PRESIDING, KWOFIE J.A., GAISIE (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:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm">

</div>KUSI-APPIAH,
(J.A.):<o:p></o:p>The respondent to this appeal, Grace
Baffour Awuah (hereinafter called the plaintiff) brought an action at the High
Court, (Land Division), Accra against two defendants including the 2nd
defendant/appellant herein, Belinda Nelson (hereinafter called the defendant) for
declaration of title to pieces or parcels of land lying and being at Nmai Dzorm
in the Greater Accra Region covering on approximate area of 0.261 acres.&nbsp; The action was discontinued against the 1st
defendant, Cordelia Arthur, leaving
the 2nd defendant/appellant alone as the defendant in the action.<o:p></o:p>In her statement of claim, the plaintiff
pleaded that she was bringing &nbsp;the action
per Her lawful Attorney, Robert Baffour
Awuah who is her husband and a retired public servant of Ghana Telecom
Limited, now Vodafone Ghana Limited.&nbsp;
Apart from the declaration, she also sought recovery of possession of
the said pieces of land, general damages for trespass and cost including
solicitor’s fees and an order for perpetual injunction against the defendant
and her privies.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>The case of the plaintiff as gathered
from her pleadings and evidence at the trial was that she bought two separate
parcels of land from the Numo Sowah Djin Okpelor family of Nmai Dzorn,
Teshie-Nungua and the said family was represented by Nii Okpelor Jacob Ablorh
Mensah in the said transaction.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>It is also the case of the plaintiff
that after she was issued with indentures, she presented same for registration
at the Land Title Registry.&nbsp; She claims
she was then given certificates with numbers TD 12337 and TD 10089.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>According to the plaintiff, she has been
in undisturbed possession of the land and started building thereon until the
defendant trespassed onto the land with thugs and landguards who violently
tried to take possession under the pretext that the land belonged to one Yakubu
Abdullah, who in turn has sold same to the defendant herein with the assistance
of the Okpelor Sowah Djin family of Nmai Dzorn.&nbsp;
She further pleaded that all attempts to have the trespassers vacate the
land proved futile, hence the present action.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>For her part, the defendant resisted the
claim of the plaintiff, she vehemently denied plaintiff’s claims to ownership
of the land.&nbsp; The defendant averred that
she initially acquired the subject land/property from the Nungua Stool who were
in possession of the land on 1st July, 2003 and paid valuable
consideration for same.&nbsp; She claimed she
was put into vacant possession of the land where she constructed a wall around
the land and two single rooms on the land and placed a caretaker in those
rooms.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>It is the case of the defendant that she
presented her documents covering the land for registration and was issued a
yellow card.&nbsp; The defendant alleged that
in 2004, she was approached by the Okpelor Sowah Djin family of Teshie who
claimed to have secured judgment over the disputed land and thus claimed
ownership of the said land.&nbsp; The
defendant contended that she again paid valuable consideration to the Okpelor
Sowah Djin family of Teshie to atone tenancy which said transaction resulted in
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