MICHAEL KOMI AKOTO AMPAW vs. HOUEGH AUTOLINER INC. /HOEGH & 2 OTHERS [2019]DLHC9218

Date	2019-04-17
Suit No.	SUIT NO. OCC/76/2014
Citation No.	[2019]DLHC9218

HER LADYSHIP JUSTICE JENNIFER ABENA DADZIE

AKOTO AMPAW ESQ. OF AKUFO-ADDO PREMPEH & CO. KWAKWADUAM CHAMBERS ACCRA COUNSEL FOR PLAINTIFF

STEPHEN SOWAH CHARWAY (H/B FOR O.K. OSAFO BUABENG ESQ.) OF OSEAWUO CHAMBERS & CO. MARKET SQUARE TEMA COUNSEL FOR 1ST AND 2ND DEFENDANTS

EDWARD METTLE NUNOO ESQ. OF LEGAL DEPARTMENT GHANA PORTS & HARBOUR AUTHORITY HARBOUR BUSINESS AREA TEMA FOR 3RD DEFENDANT

[2019]DLHC9218
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >MICHAEL KOMI AKOTO AMPAW<o:p></o:p>(PLAINTIFF)<o:p></o:p>vs.<o:p></o:p>HOUEGH AUTOLINER INC. /HOEGH &amp; 2 OTHERS<o:p></o:p>(DEFENDANT)<o:p></o:p>[HIGH COURT,
ACCRA]<o:p></o:p>SUIT NO.
OCC/76/2014&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &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: 17TH APRIL, 2019<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">

<o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>

</div>COUNSEL:<o:p></o:p>AKOTO
AMPAW, ESQ., OF AKUFO-ADDO, PREMPEH &amp; CO., KWAKWADUAM CHAMBERS, ACCRA,
COUNSEL FOR PLAINTIFF<o:p></o:p>STEPHEN SOWAH CHARWAY (H/B FOR O.K.
OSAFO BUABENG, ESQ.) OF OSEAWUO CHAMBERS &amp; CO., MARKET SQUARE, TEMA,
COUNSEL FOR 1ST AND 2ND DEFENDANTS<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;margin-left:0cm;margin-right:.2pt">

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:
justify;line-height:150%;border:none;mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm">EDWARD METTLE NUNOO, ESQ., OF LEGAL
DEPARTMENT, GHANA PORTS &amp; HARBOUR AUTHORITY, HARBOUR BUSINESS AREA, TEMA,
FOR 3RD DEFENDANT<o:p></o:p>

<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center;line-height:115%;
tab-stops:center 234.0pt;border:none;mso-border-top-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:1.0pt 0cm 1.0pt 0cm">JUDGMENT<o:p></o:p>

</div><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: &quot;Book Antiqua&quot;, serif; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">“The daily negotiations and property of merchants ought not to depend
upon subtleties and niceties; but upon rules, easily learned and easily
retained, because they are the dictates of common sense, drawn from the truth
of the case.<o:p></o:p><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: &quot;Book Antiqua&quot;, serif; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">Per Lord Mansfield in the case of
Hamilton v Mendes [1761] 97 ER 787.<o:p></o:p>In
this case, the Plaintiff who describes himself as a private business man and an
evangelist purchased a slightly used 2011 model of a vehicle, an Audi Q7 TDI,
which he arranged to be shipped on board the vessel Hoegh Masan 43 belonging to
the 1st Defendant shipping line from the United States of America
bound for Tema in Ghana as the port of destination.&nbsp; After the discharge of the vehicle from the
vessel at the Tema Port, to his dismay, he found the vehicle was damaged, to
wit, all four doors had dents and scratch marks, cracks and damages to the
right side mirror, damage, which he says was not present at the time he
purchased the vehicle and at the time he consigned it to the ship and the CD
loader in the glove compartment of the vehicle had also been ripped off and
stolen together with two floor carpets.&nbsp; <o:p></o:p>Upon these facts, on October 27, 2014,
the Plaintiff sued the 1st Defendant, as the Carrier, the 2nd
Defendant as the agent of the 1st Defendant Carrier in Ghana and the
3rd Defendant, the stevedoring company that was engaged by the 1st
Defendant to offload the cargo off the vessel, jointly and severally for the
following reliefs:<o:p></o:p>“(a)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; General damages in the sum of Forty Two
Thousand Six Hundred and Ninety Four Ghana Cedis Ninety Three Pesewas (GH¢42,694.93),
being the replacement cost of the parts of the vehicle damaged and/or stolen.<o:p></o:p>(b) &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Costs of litigation, including lawyer’s
fees.<o:p></o:p>After Pre-trial, the following issues
were set down for trial:<o:p></o:p>“i.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Whether
or not at the pre-discharge inspection it was revealed that there was no key to
the vehicle and same had dents and scratches
<o:p></o:p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0cm;margin-right:36.0pt;margin-bottom:
0cm;margin-left:72.0pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify;text-indent:
-72.0pt;mso-text-indent-alt:-18.0pt;line-height:150%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><a name="_Hlk518265193">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
ii.