AFIA OFOSUAA vs AFRICAN TOWERS LIMITED
July 24, 2019
HIGH COURT
GHANA
CORAM
- HER LADYSHIP, JUSTICE GIFTY AGYEI ADDO
Areas of Law
- Contract Law
- Property and Real Estate Law
- Civil Procedure
July 24, 2019
HIGH COURT
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
In January 2019, the Plaintiff brought a rent and contract claim in the High Court after leasing her land at Asuoso, Eastern Region of Ghana, to the Defendant, acting through director Gilbert Boye, for the construction and operation of a telecommunications mast. The parties executed a ten-year Lease Agreement with monthly rent of GH 0 and a two-year rent advance of GH 19,200 due in September 2017. The Defendant erected the mast and took vacant possession in August 2017 but paid neither the advance nor any rent despite repeated demands. After service, interlocutory default judgment was entered when the Defendant failed to appear, though it later entered appearance and moved to set aside. While that application was pending, the parties filed terms of settlement. On 17 July 2019, the Court adopted those terms as a consent judgment, requiring the Defendant to pay GH 16,800 in rent arrears and GH 5,000 in legal costs, and obligating the Plaintiff to guarantee quiet enjoyment and perform customary payments, with rights to enforce upon breach.
On 25th January, 2019, the Plaintiff instituted this action against the Defendant for the following reliefs as endorsed on the writ of summons and statement of claim:
i. Payment of the sum of Eight Thousand and Eight Hundred Ghana Cedis (GH¢ 8, 800. 00) being rent owed by the Defendant from August 2017 to July 2018.
ii. Interest on (i) above at the commercial bank lending rate from 15th August 2018.
iii. Mesne profits from August 2018 until the date that the Defendant vacates the land.
iv. Recovery of possession of the land in dispute.
v. Removal of the communications mast constructed on the land in dispute by the Defendant.
Damages for breach of contract.
Costs of the action including lawyer’s fees.
Any other order(s) that this Court may deem meet.
The gravamen of the Plaintiff’s claim is contained in paragraphs 3 to 9 of the statement of claim, a summation of which is as follows: According to the Plaintiff, sometime in the year 2017, the Defendant acting per its director, Gilbert Boye, approached her with the view of leasing her parcel of land situated at Asuoso in the Eastern Region of the Republic of Ghana.
The Plaintiff says after negotiations with the Defendant, she agreed to lease the parcel of land to the Defendant for a period of ten (10) years, yielding rent of Eight Hundred Ghana Cedis (GH¢800. 00) a month.
The Plaintiff further states that the property was to be used for the construction and operation of a telecommunication mast. The Plaintiff states that the parties executed a Lease Agreement, after their negotiations.
The Plaintiff continues that the Defendant agreed to pay her a rent advance of two (2)years totaling Nineteen Thousand Two Hundred Ghana Cedis (GH¢19, 200. 00) on 15th September, 2017. It is the case of the Plaintiff that the Defendant has erected the telecommunication mast on her land as agreed but has refused to pay the rent advance or any rent at all since it was granted vacant possession of the land in August 2017. The Plaintiff avers that she has repeatedly made demands on the Defendant to honour its obligations towards her, including engaging Counsel to write to the Defendant, but all attempts have proven futile as the Defendant has refused to pay the rent agreed for the leased property.
It is the Plaintiff’s case that the Defendant intends to continue being on her land which she leased to it without paying the rent agreed and owing.
For all this, the Plaintiff says she is entitled to the reliefs for which sh