REPUBLIC vs. THE HIGH COURT, LAND DIV. (7) ACCRA, EXPARTE: THE REGISTERED TRUSTEE OF EAST DADEKOTOPON, DEVELOPMENT TRUST ADOLPH TETTEH ADJEI, ANAS AAREMEYAW ANAS AND HOLY QUAYE [2020]DLSC10080

REPUBLIC vs. THE HIGH COURT, LAND DIV. (7) ACCRA, EXPARTE: THE REGISTERED TRUSTE... [2020]DLSC10080

Date	2020-07-22
Suit No.	CIVIL MOTION NO. J5/46/2020
Citation No.	[2020]DLSC10080

DOTSE JSC (PRESIDING)

APPAU JSC

PWAMANG JSC

TORKORNOO (MRS) JSC

MENSA-BONSU (MRS) JSC

EZRA ALABI BORQUAYE FOR THE APPLICANTS

EMMANUEL BRIGHT ATOKOH FOR THE 1ST INTERESTED PARTY

DAVID AMETEFE FOR THE 2ND INTERESTED PARTY

[2020]DLSC10080
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >REPUBLIC<o:p></o:p>vs.<o:p></o:p>THE
HIGH COURT, LAND DIV. (7) ACCRA<o:p></o:p>(RESPONDENT)<o:p></o:p>EXPARTE:
THE REGISTERED TRUSTEE OF EAST DADEKOTOPON, DEVELOPMENT TRUST<o:p></o:p>(APPLICANT)<o:p></o:p>ADOLPH
TETTEH ADJEI, ANAS AAREMEYAW ANAS AND HOLY QUAYE<o:p></o:p>(INTERESTED PARTIES)<o:p></o:p>[SUPREME 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;">

CIVIL MOTION
NO. J5/46/2020&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; DATE: 22ND JULY, 2020<o:p></o:p>

</div>COUNSEL:<o:p></o:p>EZRA ALABI BORQUAYE FOR
THE APPLICANTS.<o:p></o:p>EMMANUEL BRIGHT ATOKOH
FOR THE 1ST INTERESTED PARTY. <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:6.0pt;text-align:justify;text-justify:
inter-ideograph;line-height:115%;border:none;mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm">DAVID AMETEFE FOR THE 2ND
INTERESTED PARTY.<o:p></o:p>

</div>CORAM: &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;<o:p></o:p>DOTSE JSC (PRESIDING), APPAU JSC, PWAMANG JSC, TORKORNOO (MRS) JSC,
MENSA-BONSU (MRS) JSC<o:p></o:p><div style="border-top-width: 1.5pt; border-top-color: windowtext; border-left: none; border-bottom-width: 1.5pt; border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-right: none; padding: 1pt 0cm;">

<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center;line-height:115%;
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">RULING<o:p></o:p>

</div>&nbsp;TORKORNOO
(MRS), JSC:-<o:p></o:p>The matters in controversy in this application for an Order of Certiorari
have zig-zagged between the High Court, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme
Court, since 2017, and unworthily so. <o:p></o:p>BACKGROUND
<o:p></o:p>On 8th March 2017, the 1st Interested Party herein
sued the 2nd and 3rd Interested parties in a suit titled
and numbered Adolph Tetteh Adjei v Anas
Aremeyaw Anas, Holy Quaye Suit No LD/0256/2017 for declaration of title to
2.0 acres of land situate at East La Dadekotopon, damages for trespass,
recovery of possession and injunction to restrain further trespass. After
entering appearance and without filing a defence, the 2nd and 3rd
Interested Parties prayed the high court presided over by Justice Gyimah for an
order to dismiss the suit on the ground that it is an abuse of process.<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;According to the Ruling of Gyimah J attached to the application before
us as Exhibit B and dated 31st August 2017, the ground for their
application was that the issue of ownership of the land in dispute had been
decided by Justice Ofori-Atta in 2010 in the case of Edward Mensah Tawiah, and Ewormenyo Ofoli Kwashie v The Ag Chief Registrar of Lands
and The Trustees, East Dadekotopon Development Trust, Suit No BL
431/2006. That, the parties in the dispute before Gyimah J were privies of
the parties in the case decided by Ofori Atta J and therefore, the dispute
regarding title to the land claimed by the 1st Interested Party
herein was a matter that is res judicata. <o:p></o:p>&nbsp;Gyimah J also found from the affidavits and arguments of Counsels that
though the judgment of Ofori Atta J had been appealed against and compromised
in Terms of Settlement and a Consent Judgment that the Court of Appeal had adopted
as the Appellate judgment in Edward
Mensah Tawiah , Ewormenyo Ofoli
Kwashie v The Ag Chief Registrar of Lands and The Trustees, East Dadekotopon
Development Trust, that Consent Judgment had been declared to be void on
account of fraud by a ruling given by Justice Abada in Daniel Ofoli Ewormienyo v. Edward Nsiah Akuetteh and numbered BMISC
720/2015.<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;According to Gyimah J in his ruling, it had been pointed out to him that
the decision of Abada J in suit number BMISC
720/2015 was an interlocutory decision in a different matter than what was before
Gyimah J. Still, in Gyimah J’s opinion, ‘a
careful reading of the decision (by Abada J) revealed that the said decision effectively determined the rights
between the parties’ (in this Suit
No LD/0256/2017 before Gyimah J).<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;Gyimah J went on to say that Abada J had held in his 2015 interlocutory
decision in BMISC 720/2015 that
Edward Nsiah Akuetteh, who was the defendant in that suit before Abada J, and
the person substituted for Ewormenyo Ofoli Quarshie at the Court of Appeal when
Edward Mensah Tawiah , Ewormenyo Ofoli Kwashie v The Ag Chief
Registrar of Lands and The Trustees, East Dadekotopon Development Trust, Suit
No BL 431/2006 went on appeal, was
not the rightful person to have succeeded Ewormenyo Ofoli Quarshie. And as such
any compromises Edward Nsiah Akuetteh made in the Court of Appeal in could not
be binding on the family of Ewormenyo Ofoli Quarshie. It was also the holding
of Abada J in his interloc</main>