RULING
MOTION ON NOTICE FOR JOINDER PURSUANT TO ORDER 4 RULE 5(2)
OF THE HIGH COURT CIVIL PROCEDURE RULES; C. I. 47.
Background:
The Plaintiff/Applicant (hereinafter referred to as Plaintiff) on the 3rd of April
2023 issued a Writ of Summons and a Statement of Claim against the Defendants
herein praying for the following reliefs;
a) Recovering of possession;
b) General damages for trespass;
c) Perpetual injunction against Defendants and their agents, assigns,
representatives, and all persons claiming through and/or under
Defendants from coming onto the land, interfering in the title, use and
possession of the land by Plaintiff; and
d) Cost including legal fees of Plaintiff.
Subsequently, Plaintiff filed an Application for Joinder of the aforementioned
Joindees on the 21st of April 2023 and per the Affidavit in Support of the
Application by Richard Kpakpo Allotey, a Director of the Plaintiff Company and
the deponent herein, the Plaintiff is the legal and equitable owner of the subject
matter land and also owns another parcel of land adjoining the subject matter,
which land is all that piece or parcel of land situate lying and being at Dansoman
Otodjor in the Ablekuma North Municipal Assembly of the Greater Accra Region
of the Republic of Ghana.
He deposed further that the Plaintiff acquired the lands from the Gbawe Kwatei
family of Accra in 2019 to be developed as commercial estate and have been
issued land certificate numbers by the Lands Commission, Accra. The Plaintiff
sued the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Defendants because they are said to be persons
responsible for the grants and/or development of portions of Plaintiff’s land and
following service of the Writ and other processes on the Defendants, it came to
the attention of Plaintiff that the Joindees are persons who purport to have
interest in the land in dispute. He deposed further that to ensure that all parties who have an interest in this matter before Court, it is important that the Joindees
herein are joined and made parties to the suit since an action against the 1st, 2nd,
3rd and 4th defendants per se will not bring closure to the dispute over the land in
question.
Issue(s) for Determination
In view of the above, the main issue is the determination of whether or not the
aforementioned Joindees are necessary parties before the court and therefore
ought to be joined as Defendants to the instant suit. Generally speaking, the
court will make all such changes in resp