DZIEDZOM AWO HETTEY vs. JOSEPH BLAY ERZUAH [2022]DLHC11627

Date	2022-04-07
Suit No.	SUIT NO: E1/64/19
Citation No.	[2022]DLHC11627

HIS LORDSHIP DR. RICHMOND OSEI-HWERE J.

PHILIP FIIFI BUCKMAN ESQ. FOR PLAINTIFF

DAVID AWORTWE OTOO ESQ. FOR DEFENDANT.

[2022]DLHC11627
																																						<div class="restriction-wrapper">
														<div class="container-lg">
															<div class="row">
																<div class="col-md-12 restricted-content">
																	<div class="restricted-content-img-wrapper">
																		<div class="lock-icon bounce-7">
																			<img class=""
																				src="https://www.dennislawgh.com/dl-assets/dl-images/lock-content.png"
																				alt="Subscription based content">
																		</div>
																	</div>
																	 
																		<a href="https://www.dennislawgh.com/login"
																		class="btn btn-primary btn-lg"
																		style="font-family: 'open sans'; text-transform: capitalize; border-radius: 8px"> 
																		Login to Read Full Case </a>
																	 
																	
																</div>
															</div>
														</div>
													</div>
													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >DZIEDZOM AWO
HETTEY<o:p></o:p>(PLAINTIFF)<o:p></o:p>vs.<o:p></o:p>JOSEPH BLAY ERZUAH<o:p></o:p>(DEFENDANT)<o:p></o:p>[HIGH COURT, SEKONDI]<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;border:none;mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm">SUIT
NO: E1/64/19&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:
7TH APRIL 2022<o:p></o:p>

</div>COUNSEL<o:p></o:p>PHILIP FIIFI BUCKMAN
ESQ. FOR PLAINTIFF<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;tab-stops:89.25pt;border:none;mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm">DAVID
AWORTWE OTOO ESQ. FOR DEFENDANT.<o:p></o:p>

</div>CORAM<o:p></o:p>HIS LORDSHIP DR. RICHMOND OSEI-HWERE J.<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="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;
text-align:center;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>&nbsp;On
24th April, 2019 the Plaintiff instituted an action against the
Defendant for the following reliefs:<o:p></o:p>a)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Recovery
of possession of a piece of land forming part of Plaintiff’s plot No. EA 8
lying and situate at West Tanokrom, Effia Anaji and the easement thereto.<o:p></o:p>b)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Damages for trespass.<o:p></o:p>c)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Cost.<o:p></o:p>The
plaintiff’s case is reflected in her statement of claim and the witness
statement filed on the 24th April, 2019 and 17th July,
2021 respectively. A summary of Plaintiff’s case is that she is the
Administratrix of the estate of the late Adzo Hettey (her late mother and
customary successor). That sometime in 1979 her father Mr. Emmanuel Kojo Hettey
acquired the disputed land, he entered into occupation and in the process of
processing his document he passed on. <o:p></o:p>Plaintiff
avers that after the demise of her father, the mother Mrs. Adzo Hettey made
frantic efforts to trace the documents at the Lands Commission but was always
told it had been sent to Accra. So at a point, she was advised to re-start the
processing of the documents which she did by approaching the grantor of the
land, Nana Ekra Kojo in 1993. A fresh Indenture was executed in her mother’s name.
her mother registered the Indenture, went into occupation of the land by
putting up a house and moved into same with the family in 1997.<o:p></o:p>Plaintiff
avers that per the schedule of the land, same is bounded on the North West by
the main motor road from Kwesimintsim Ntankoful and measuring 190 feet more on
less and that her family had been in undisturbed possession until they found
one Nicholas claiming to have acquired the easement on the frontage of the
house but she resisted the said grant.<o:p></o:p>Plaintiff
states further that in 20013, one Mr. Biney also approached her that he had
acquired the land, the subject of the dispute. According to the Plaintiff she
reported the matter to the Sekondi Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly (STMA) and
the institution stopped the said Biney from carrying on with any development on
the land since same was not in the Planning Scheme.<o:p></o:p>Plaintiff
further stated that sometime in February 2018, the new district, Effia
Kwesimintsim Municipal Assembly (EKMA) wrote a notice of eviction on her
brother’s kiosk situate on the disputed land. According to Plaintiff she was
alarmed by the development. That she went to the STMA office where an officer,
one Philip informed her that it was unlawful for anyone to carry out a project
on the portion of her land. Plaintiff says that the Defendant showed up that
the land had been granted to him and that despite all protestations, he
(defendant) deposited sand and covet on the land.<o:p></o:p>The
Defendant denied the claim of the Plaintiff and stated that the area where the
disputed land is situate saw a new dimension, after the construction of the
Apollo – Ntankoful Highway in the early two-thousands.&nbsp; According to defendant, a space was therefore
created and the Ekra Kojo IV’s Family of Anaji did not want the space that had
been created to go unutilized. They therefore caused a demarcation of the space
into plots within the West Tanokrom – Effia – Anaji composite Planning
Scheme.&nbsp; That, the demarcated plots were
on the frontage of the old developed plots – so that an old plot which was for
instance EA7 had the new one in its frontage as EA7A and so on. That the Plot
of land, the subject of the dispute which is EA8A is in the frontage of Plaintiff’s
Plot EA8.&nbsp; It is defendant’s case that, the
Anaji Chief, Nana Ekra Kojo IV informed the plot owners whose frontage the new
plots had emerged as a result of the demarcation and gave them the first option
to purchase them. Defendants says that all except the Plaintiff refused or
failed to buy hers.<o:p></o:p>At
the close of pleadings, the Court set the following issues down for trial:<o:p></o:p>a)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Whether
or not the portion of land under development by the Defendant forms part of
Plaintiff’s acquired land.<o:p></o:p>