JUDGMENT OF TAYLOR J.
On 19 July 1971 I refused an application by the defendants-applicants and I reserved my reasons for so refusing to today. I did so because this application before me brought under Order 16, r. 11 of the Supreme [High] Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, 1954 (L.N. 140A.), involved a point of procedure of rare occurrence and does not seem to me to have been dealt with in the past in any way that can be properly described as full. I took the view that if it is fully dealt with such applications by tortfeasors will continue to be as rare here as they have been in England. The one local case directly in point which I came across, namely, Apenteng v. Bank of West Africa [1961] G.L.R. 81 to be dealt with later on in this judgment does not appear to have been vigorously argued although in its result the similar application therein made suffered the same fate as the application herein and for reasons which although short and concise are in my respectful opinion right.
With this preliminary observation I now proceed to give the full reasons why the application was refused. This is a motion by the defendants-applicants hereinafter called the applicants praying for an order of this court that a certain limited liability Company, the Popular Merchants Co., Ltd., be joined as third defendants to this action in which the plaintiff-respondent hereinafter referred to as the respondent is claiming by his writ the rather colossal sum of N¢50,000.00 damages for libel jointly and severally against the said applicants. The respondent by his counsel has vigorously opposed the application and in my view it is necessary to refer to the relevant paragraphs of the pleadings in order to understand the reasons for the application and why the respondent has so vehemently opposed it. The exercise will also high-light the issues and enable the court to decide whether this is a proper case for joinder.
In his detailed statement of claim of twelve paragraphs filed on 8 April 1971, the respondent averred in paragraphs (3) and (4) as follows:
“(3) By a letter dated 22 February 1971 titled 'suspension of appointment' and circulated to, inter alia, officials of the Barclays Bank D.C.O., Kumasi, Mr. Osei Bonsu, Junior, and the accountant of the second defendants falsely and maliciously published or caused to be published, of and concerning the plaintiff, and of him in the way of his said office and/or business as such deputy managing director of the second defendants a
