[2023]DLHC17073 Login to Read Full Case <span style="font-size: 18px !important;"><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:center;line-height:115%;tab-stops:4.5pt"><a name="_Hlk152146143"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif;mso-fareast-font-family: "Book Antiqua";mso-bidi-font-family:"Book Antiqua";color:#00B0F0">KWAME BEDU-ANDOR <o:p></o:p></span></b></a></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:center;line-height:115%;tab-stops:4.5pt"><i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Book Antiqua";mso-bidi-font-family:"Book Antiqua"">(PLAINTIFF)<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:center;line-height:115%;tab-stops:4.5pt"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Book Antiqua";mso-bidi-font-family:"Book Antiqua"; color:#00B0F0">vs.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:center;line-height:115%;tab-stops:4.5pt"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Book Antiqua";mso-bidi-font-family:"Book Antiqua"; color:#00B0F0">EBENEZER K. BOAHENE & 3ORS.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:center;line-height:115%;tab-stops:4.5pt"><i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Book Antiqua";mso-bidi-font-family:"Book Antiqua"">(DEFENDANT)<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:center;line-height:115%;tab-stops:4.5pt"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Book Antiqua"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Book Antiqua"">[HIGH COURT, ACCRA]<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align: justify;line-height:115%;tab-stops:4.5pt 168.75pt"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Book Antiqua"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Book Antiqua""> </span></p><div style="border-top: none; border-right: none; border-left: none; border-image: initial; border-bottom-width: 1.5pt; border-bottom-color: black; padding: 0cm 0cm 1pt;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align: justify;line-height:115%;tab-stops:4.5pt;border:none;mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black 1.5pt;padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm"><a name="_heading=h.gjdgxs"></a><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Book Antiqua";mso-bidi-font-family: "Book Antiqua"">SUIT NO. E12/100/22 DATE: 27<sup>TH</sup> APRIL 2023</span><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt;line-height: 115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Book Antiqua"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Book Antiqua""><o:p></o:p></span></b></p> </div><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif">COUNSEL<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">THEODORE NII AYI-BONTE ESQ FOR KWAKU OWUSU-AGYEMANG ESQ FOR THE PLAINTIFF/RESPONDENT<o:p></o:p></span></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="MsoNoSpacing" style="border:none;mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt; padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">FELIX ASSAN ESQ FOR JOHN MERCER ESQ FOR THE 1ST, 2ND AND 3RD DEFENDANTS/APPLICANTS.<o:p></o:p></span></p> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align: justify;line-height:115%;tab-stops:4.5pt"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif;mso-fareast-font-family: "Book Antiqua";mso-bidi-font-family:"Book Antiqua"">CORAM <o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align: justify;line-height:115%;tab-stops:4.5pt"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Book Antiqua";mso-bidi-font-family: "Book Antiqua";mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">HIS LORDSHIP DR. RICHMOND OSEI-HWERE J.<o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="border-top-width: 1.5pt; border-top-color: black; border-left: none; border-bottom-width: 1.5pt; border-bottom-color: black; border-right: none; padding: 1pt 0cm;"> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:center;line-height:115%;tab-stops:4.5pt;border:none;mso-border-top-alt: solid black 1.5pt;mso-border-bottom-alt:solid black 1.5pt;padding:0cm; mso-padding-alt:1.0pt 0cm 1.0pt 0cm"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family: "Book Antiqua",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Book Antiqua";mso-bidi-font-family: "Book Antiqua"">RULING</span></b><b><span style="font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Book Antiqua"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Book Antiqua""><o:p></o:p></span></b></p> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align: justify;text-indent:36.0pt;line-height:115%"><span style="font-size:12.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align: justify;text-indent:36.0pt;line-height:115%"><span style="font-size:12.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">In this application, 1<sup>st</sup> and 2<sup>nd</sup> Defendants (hereinafter called Applicants) are praying the court to dismiss the suit against them as same is an abuse of the court process.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align: justify;text-indent:36.0pt;line-height:115%"><span style="font-size:12.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">Order 11 Rule 18 (1) (d) of the High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, CI 47 provides:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align: justify;text-indent:36.0pt;line-height:115%"><span style="font-size:12.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0cm;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:0cm; margin-left:36.0pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify;line-height:115%"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">“1) The Court may at any stage of the proceedings order any pleading or anything in any pleading to be struck out on the grounds that <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align: justify;text-indent:36.0pt;line-height:115%"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">(d) it is otherwise an abuse of the process of the Court</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">, <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align: justify;line-height:115%"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">and may order the action to be stayed or dismissed or judgment to be entered accordingly.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align: justify;line-height:115%"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align: justify;text-indent:36.0pt;line-height:115%"><span style="font-size:12.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">The Black’s Law Dictionary 9th edition defines abuse of court process as:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align: justify;line-height:115%"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">“The improper and tortuous use of a legitimately issued court process to obtain a result that is either unlawful or beyond the process’s scope”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align: justify;line-height:115%"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align: justify;text-indent:36.0pt;line-height:115%"><span style="font-size:12.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">The doctrine of abuse of process, commonly referred to as the rule in <b><i>Henderson v Henderson (1843) 3 Hare 100</i></b> whose essence was set out by the English Court of Appeal in <b><i>Barrow v Bankside Agency Ltd [1996] WLR 257 at 260</i></b> as follows:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align: justify;text-indent:36.0pt;line-height:115%"><span style="font-size:12.0pt; line-height:115%;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align: justify;line-height:115%"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif">“The rule in Henderson v Henderson requires the parties, when a matter becomes the subject of litigation between them in a Court of competent jurisdiction, to bring their whole case before the Court so that all aspects of it may be finally decided, (subject of course to any appeal) once and for all. In the absence of special circumstances, the parties cannot return to the Court to advance arguments, claims or defences which they could have put forward for decision on the first occasion but failed to raise. The rule is not based on the doctrine of res judicata in a narrow sense, or even on any strict doctrine of issue or cause of action estoppels. It is a rule of public policy based on the desirability, in the general interest as well as the parties themselves, that litigation should not drag on forever and that a defendant should not be oppressed by successive suits when one would do. That is the abuse at which