GH - A. C. DE-VINE v. AGNES MOULD of Accra

Judgment:

This is an appeal from a decision given by the Native Court on the 28th April, 1949, who entered judgment for the defendant.

The plaintiff, De-Vine, now the appellant, claimed in effect (a) a declaration of title to land, (b) damages for trespass and (c) an injunction.

I re-heard the evidence in whole. I find that the following facts have been proven.

In 1936 the appellant obtained from the then Manche of James Town a grant of land situate at Korle Gonno between Quarmina Road and Bryan Road as shown in the exhibits admitted in the Native Court and marked there as " C " and "D" and the further plan admitted by me and marked as No. "1". The appellant is a subject of the James Town Stool and the land was granted to him for the purpose of building and dwelling only. The land is Stool land and subject to tenures known to customary law alone.

The appellant obtained a certificate of grant which was lost when the house in which it was kept was destroyed by fire during the earthquake in 1939. With the assistance of Mr. Brown, then employed as an Inspector of Works of the Accra Town Council and also by the James Town Stool as an "overseer" over Stool land and with particular regard to such applicants as these, the appellant obtained a permit to build sometime about 1940.

The land then became the subject of requisitioning for the Accra Re-housing Scheme and the correspondence shows that not until 1942 did Government express the intention to surrender these lands to the occupants, among whom was the appellant, nor is it clear and nor was the appellant clearly aware when that land was finally surrendered to him by Government.

But it is quite clear that the appellant did bring a large amount of building materials onto the land including many cement blocks with the object of building his house and there was no evidence before me that he had at any time abandoned that intention to build, when, in 1948 he found that the defendant, now the respondent, had commenced building operations and he then issued his writ on the 25th November, 1948.

I accept the following facts evidenced by the respondent.

On the 30th May, 1947, the respondent purchased from the James Town anche the successor in title of the grantor to the appellant, this same piece of land for a sum of £15, when she inspected the land she found thereon a cassava farm, cocoa-nut trees and cement blocks and in November, 1948, she commenced to build and then was served with the writ of the appellant.

Judgment:

This is an appeal from a decision given by the Native Court on the 28th April, 1949, who entered judgment for the defendant.

The plaintiff, De-Vine, now the appellant, claimed in effect (a) a declaration of title to land, (b) damages for trespass and (c) an injunction.

I re-heard the evidence in whole. I find that the following facts have been proven.

I accept the following facts evidenced by the respondent.

A. C. DE-VINE v. AGNES MOULD of Accra

Areas of Law

JUDGMENT