MADAM AMA ADADZOA vs. MAKAFUI HODANU & 2 ORS. [2020]DLHC10300

Date	2020-03-23
Suit No.	SUIT NO. FAL/557/11
Citation No.	[2020]DLHC10300

HER LADYSHIP JUSTICE ANANDA J. AIKINS (MRS).

[2020]DLHC10300
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" ><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;
line-height:115%;font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,serif;mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;;
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color:#00B0F0;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">MADAM AMA ADADZOA<o:p></o:p><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,serif;
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mso-bidi-font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB;mso-bidi-font-weight:
bold">(PLAINTIFF)<o:p></o:p><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;
line-height:115%;font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,serif;mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;;
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color:#00B0F0;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">vs.<o:p></o:p><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;
line-height:115%;font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,serif;mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;mso-bidi-font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;;
color:#00B0F0;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">MAKAFUI HODANU &amp; 2 ORS.<o:p></o:p><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,serif;
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mso-bidi-font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB;mso-bidi-font-weight:
bold">(DEFENDANTS)<o:p></o:p><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:
115%;font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,serif;mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;;
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mso-fareast-language:EN-GB;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">[HIGH COURT, ACCRA]<o:p></o:p><div style="border-top: none; border-right: none; border-left: none; border-image: initial; border-bottom-width: 1.5pt; border-bottom-color: windowtext; padding: 0cm 0cm 1pt;">

<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;
text-align:center;line-height:115%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:
none;text-autospace:none;border:none;mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,serif;
mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;;mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-bidi-font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB;mso-bidi-font-weight:
bold">SUIT NO. FAL/557/11&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &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:
23RD MARCH 2020<o:p></o:p>

</div><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,serif;
mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;;mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-bidi-font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;;mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">CORAM:<o:p></o:p><div style="border-top: none; border-right: none; border-left: none; border-image: initial; border-bottom-width: 1.5pt; border-bottom-color: windowtext; padding: 0cm 0cm 1pt;">

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:
justify;line-height:115%;border:none;mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm">HER LADYSHIP JUSTICE ANANDA J. AIKINS (MRS).<o:p></o:p>

</div><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:
115%;font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,serif;mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;;
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mso-fareast-language:EN-GB">&nbsp;RULING ON APPLICATION FOR INTERLOCUTORY
INJUNCTION<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;This application for interlocutory
injunction was filed by the counsel for the 1st and 2nd
defendants on the 23rd day of November, 2018. It is a request to the
Court for an order of interlocutory injunction directed at the 3rd
defendant to restrain her from developing the land, the subject matter of this
suit pending the final determination of the substantive suit. <o:p></o:p>The reason for this request is that the
land in question was acquired by the parents of the 1st defendant
and the 2nd defendant in September 1992 and later had it registered
at the Land Title Registry of the Lands Commission in March 2011. The applicant
claims the 3rd defendant is rapidly developing the land and if she
is not restrained, she will totally change the character of the land in
dispute. <o:p></o:p>The 3rd defendant is opposed
to this application on the ground that she acquired the land from the plaintiff
in September 1998 after the plaintiff had acquired the land from one Emmanuel
Adotey Brown in October 1992. <o:p></o:p>The plaintiff did not file any
affidavit in opposition to the application. Her counsel informed the Court that
an earlier order of interlocutory injunction was granted by the Court then
presided over by Obimpe J. on 23rd April, 2012. Indeed counsel for
the plaintiff informed the Court on the 13th of February, 2019 that
it was not the plaintiff who was developing the land but rather the 3rd
defendant who had been sold a portion of the land by the plaintiff. The counsel
for the plaintiff was asked to furnish the Court with a copy of the order which
was given by the Court on 23rd April, 2012 but to this day it has
not been done.<o:p></o:p>The inability of counsel to furnish
this record is understandable taking into consideration the chequered history
of this case because the original docket got misplaced and a temporary docket
had to be created by the registrar. <o:p></o:p>With regard to the present application
it is clear to this Court from the affidavit evidence and the pleadings of the
parties that the plaintiff, the 1st defendant and 2nd
defendant are claiming to have acquired the land at or round about the same
period of time in 1992. <o:p></o:p>It is also clear from the affidavit
evidence that it is the 3rd defendant who has carried out
substantial developments on the land since she acquired her portion from the
plaintiff. However there are triable issues to be determined in the substantive
suit like who acquired the land first in time since there appears to be a
common grantor for the plaintiff and the 1st and 2nd
defendants. <o:p></o:p>In the light of this, the Court is of
the opinion that the application for interlocutory injunction should be granted
pending the final determination of the substantive suit. The 1st and
2nd defendants are however ordered to file an undertaking in the
registry of this Court to pay damages to the 3rd defendant in the
sum of sixty thousand Ghana cedis (GHȻ60,000.00) in the event that it turns
out at the end of the trial that they were not entitled to this interlocutory
order of injunction. The said undertaking is to be filed by two weeks’ time
from the date of this order. <o:p></o:p>