GHARTEY& GHARTEY vs. ALUMINIUM ENTERPRISE LTD [2019]DLHC7545

Date	2019-07-31
Suit No.	SUIT NO.CM/RPC/0652/17
Citation No.	[2019]DLHC7545

HIS LORDSHIP JUSTICE JEROME NOBLE-NKRUMAH JUSTICE OF THE HIGH COURT

THERESA TALATA KUNLIE HOLDING BRIEF FOR THADDEUS SORY FOR THE PLAINTIFF

EMMA ADINYIRA WITH LIVINGSTONE AMEVOR FOR THE DEFENDANT

[2019]DLHC7545
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >GHARTEY&amp;
GHARTEY<o:p></o:p>vs.<o:p></o:p>ALUMINIUM ENTERPRISE LTD<o:p></o:p>[HIGH COURT (COMMERRCIAL 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.CM/RPC/0652/17&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; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;DATE: 31ST JULY, 2019<o:p></o:p>

</div>COUNSEL:
<o:p></o:p>THERESA
TALATA KUNLIE HOLDING BRIEF FOR THADDEUS SORY FOR THE PLAINTIFF<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
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EMMA
ADINYIRA WITH LIVINGSTONE AMEVOR FOR THE DEFENDANT<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 JUSTICE JEROME NOBLE-NKRUMAH 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>On the 24/10/17 the plaintiff herein caused a writ to be
issued for the recovery of <o:p></o:p>i.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
The
sum of GHC2,992,701.00 being outstanding professional fees at a discounted rate
of 20% owed by the defendants <o:p></o:p>ii.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
Interest
at the prevailing commercial interest rate calculable from 3rd
November&nbsp; 2015 to the date of&nbsp; final payment<o:p></o:p>iii. Costs inclusive of professional fees<o:p></o:p>An amended writ of summons and amended statement
of claim was issued on the 11/1/18, pursuant to court order dated 21/11/17. The
reliefs remained unchanged however plaintiff changed its lawyer this time. On
the 12/6/19 the defendant applicant herein filed the present motion for
an order to set aside the writ of summons and statement of claim for lack of
capacity and cause of action.<o:p></o:p>In an affidavit in support, the
defendant applicant deposed that in or about 2005 it engaged the services of Mrs.
Efua Ghartey to put up a claim against Ecobank Ghana Ltd and she accordingly
instituted suit No. BFS/166/06. The applicant goes on that it was not issued
with any invoice by way of bills for her professional fees, however as and when
she requested for payment on account for the conduct of the case, defendant
paid.<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;Along the line and in the course of suit No.
BFS/166/06, being dissatisfied with the conduct of said case, applicant says it
changed lawyers in 2012. In 2013 the applicant says Mrs. Ghartey wrote to it
alleging some outstanding fees [exhibits A and A1]. To this the applicant says
the court in an early ruling to an application for preservation at the instance
of the plaintiff respondent, &nbsp;had made it
clear to the plaintiff that it had failed to satisfy&nbsp; a precondition to a claim for fees<o:p></o:p>Added to this the applicant says the
action has been instituted in the name of Mrs. Ghartey’s Law firm. This, the
applicant says is wrong as it was Mrs. Ghartey the defendant instructed, adding
that a law firm was not that natural person the framers of Act 32 considered to
commence an action.<o:p></o:p>In opposing this application, the
plaintiff respondent has argued that the applicant has taken a rather narrow
view of the word lawyer as envisaged in Act 32 and urges on this court a
broader view of section 2 of Act 32, adding that if a bona fide objection is to
be raised, it ought to be raised after the filing of conditional appearance.
Further to this the respondent says the Act does not provide a specific format
for a bill and therefore to the respondent the precondition of raising a bill
has been satisfied in exhibits A and A1.<o:p></o:p>I have read the Ruling of my brother
Boadi J to the Application for Preservation in this matter dated 15/1/18. I
have noted </main>