Eskwai logo
Verify now as a student, judge or newly called lawyer for access to discounted plans.

ALLAN SUGAR (PRODUCTS) LIMITED v. GHANA EXPORT COMPANY LIMITED

March 30, 1983

COURT OF APPEAL

GHANA

CORAM

  • FRANCOIS
  • MENSA BOISON
  • EDWARD WIREDU JJ.A

Areas of Law

  • Contract Law
  • Property and Real Estate Law
  • Civil Procedure

AI Generated Summary

Allan Sugar Products Ltd. (the appellants/plaintiffs) and Ghana Export Co., Ltd. (the respondents/defendants) acquired, respectively, 50 acres with buildings and 150 acres of a 200-acre farm formerly operated by the Mankesim Co-operative Vegetable Growers Marketing Society. The National Investment Bank (NIB), after foreclosing on the collapsed co-operative, assigned land to both parties. Through Exhibits 3, 4, and 6, NIB agreed to grant Ghana Export Co. exclusive use of the installed irrigation system to protect its export vegetable venture. A government letter (Exhibit B) recommending shared or hired irrigation was deemed an exhortation without legal force and was not adopted in the parties’ contracts. Plaintiffs, who had initially farmed without irrigation and later attempted to install a pump near the main system, sued when defendants removed it, asserting an implied right to irrigation use. The Court of Appeal held that written agreements control; extraneous negotiations and recommendations do not alter them; and there is no easement or positive right under non-derogation. The appeal was dismissed.

Judgement