WEST BLUE GHANA LTD vs. GHANA LINK NETWORK SERVICES LTD AND 3 OTHERS [2019]DLHC6907

Date	2019-03-14
Suit No.	SUIT NO: CM/0320/2019
Citation No.	[2019]DLHC6907

HIS LORDSHIP ERIC KYEI BAFFOUR ESQ JUSTICE OF THE HIGH COURT

[2019]DLHC6907
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >WEST
BLUE GHANA LTD<o:p></o:p>(PLAINTIFF/RESPONDENT)<o:p></o:p>vs.<o:p></o:p>GHANA
LINK NETWORK SERVICES LTD AND 3 OTHERS<o:p></o:p>(DEFENDANT)<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>[HIGH COURT (COMMERCIAL DIVISION 7), 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: CM/0320/2019&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;DATE: 14TH MARCH, 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;
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HIS LORDSHIP, ERIC KYEI BAFFOUR, ESQ., JUSTICE OF THE
HIGH COURT<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;
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</div>It is provided under Order 11 rule 18(1)(b) and (d) of
the High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2004, C. I. 47 that:<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>“The Court may at any stage of the proceedings order any pleadings or
anything in any pleadings to be struck out on the grounds that:<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;(b) it
is scandalous, frivolous or vexatious or<o:p></o:p>(d) it is otherwise an abuse of the process of the Court”<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;And may
order the action to be stayed or dismissed or judgment to be entered
accordingly”.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>1st, 2nd and 4th
Defendants claim to have anchored their application under the provisions supra
wherein they seek to set aside and or strike out the writ issued by the
Plaintiff on the 23rd of January, 2019. The basis of the claim of
the Defendants/Applicants has been stated in the affidavits that have been
deposed to in support of the application and may be stated as follows: <o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>That Plaintiff caused to be issued a writ in Suit No
GJ 1195/18 where the 1st Defendant herein is the 2nd
Defendant in that suit and the action in the suit already pending relates to an
agreement to provide a national single window system to the government of
Ghana. That in Suit No GJ 1195/18, Plaintiff sought for an injunction to
restrain the Defendants and their agents from using any invention, improvement
on the invention or design made or progress or information discovered or
software created by Plaintiff and the said application for interlocutory
injunction was refused by H/L Afia Serwaah Asare Botwe J. sitting at the
Financial Division of the High Court, Accra. That the instant writ in respect
of the same subject matter and also seeking the same or similar reliefs is a
gross abuse of procedure. Defendants accordingly opine that an amendment to the
writ and statement of claim of Plaintiff in the earlier suit or alternatively a
joinder of the other parties here who were not made parties in the first suit
could conveniently deal with all the matters in controversy and concludes that
the present action is only vexatious and an abuse of the process of the court
and hence their call for the writ not to be entertained beyond this stage.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>There is no denying the fact of the institution of an
action by Plaintiff in Suit No GJ1195/18 but Plaintiff/Respondent contend that
the two suits are different in so far as&nbsp;
Suit No GJ 1195/18 pertains to a breach of a non-competition agreement, whiles
the &nbsp;cause of action in this present suit
emanates from an infringement of intellectual property rights. Besides, that
the 2nd and 4th Defendants are not parties to Suit No GJ1195/18
and cannot purport to file this application that there is a previous suit
already pending between the parties. &nbsp;<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>