CENTURY SUN INTERNATIONAL LIMITED vs MEDIA GENERAL GHANA LIMITED

An application for an order adopting a Foreign Arbitral Award as a Judgment of the High Court and for leave to enforce same was filed in the Registry of this Court on the 15th of November, 2021. One Junyong Han deposed to an Affidavit in Support on behalf of the Applicant that the Respondent owes the Applicant about USD2 Million and an arbitral award has confirmed the Respondent’s debt after arbitral proceedings.

According to Applicant, sometime in June 2012, the parties entered into a Media Right Agreement (Exhibit ‘JH2’) by which the Applicant granted the Respondent the right to broadcast certain European Football competitions in Ghana (which media right the Applicant has spent a huge sum of money to acquire). The Respondent got viewers for the football event and earned revenue but refused to pay the Applicant in accordance to Exhibit ‘JH2’. The situation created dispute. Under clause 13.16 of the Exhibit ‘JH2’, any dispute or claim arising out of or in relation to the agreement was to be resolved by arbitration. Therefore, the Applicant submitted the dispute to arbitration (Exhibit ‘JH3’). Subsequently, both parties participated in the setting up of the arbitral tribunal together as well as the arbitral proceedings. The hearing was concluded in January 2020 (Exhibit ‘JH4’).

Furthermore, by arbitral award dated 4th February, 2020 (Exhibit ‘JH5’), the sole arbitrator determined (among others) that:

a. The Respondent had defaulted on it payment obligations under Exhibit ‘JH2’;

b. The Respondent owed USD1,809,454.25 and CHF N35,930.23 to the Applicant

c. The Respondent did not have a good defence to the claim.

After the award, the Applicant sent two demand letters (Exhibits ‘JH6A’ & ‘JH6B’) to the Respondent. In response to Exhibit ‘JH6B’, the Respondent’s Group CEO sent a letter dated 8th June, 2020 (Exhibit ‘JH7’), in which the Respondent’s Group CEO did not dispute the debt. She merely pleaded for time (up to June 2020) to submit a proposal to pay the debt. Exhibit ‘JH7’ was therefore an admission of debt and a plea for time to pay. Following Exhibit ‘JH7’, the parties exchanged several letters, all relating to the Respondent’s admission of the debt and its plea to pay the debt through a payment plan, (Exhibits ‘JH8’ to ‘JH19’). In all these exchanges, the Respondent did not deny its debt to the Applicant. None of these letters constituted a compromise of the debt or award. Ultimately, the Respondent made part payment of USD100,000.00 (Exhibit ‘JH1