CHARITY AMANKWAA v. YAW BRONI

FINAL JUDGMENT

Plaintiff sued Defendant herein for the following reliefs:

1. General damages from the defendant for unlawful causing damage to the plaintiff

cocoa farm by cutting about ½ an acre matured cocoa trees of the plaintiff

2. Perpetual injunction restraining the defendant and his agents, assigns, workmen,

etc. from having anything doing with the plaintiff cocoa farm

Brief Facts about the case

The facts underpinning the matter are that Plaintiff is a retired educationist and the

Defendant is a farmer. According the Plaintiff, Defendant has been causing damage to

her cocoa farm at Bedome Kwanso in or around November 2021. Per the summary of

subject-matter of claim, the Defendant cut bout ½ an acre of her cocoa trees which she

reported the police and still pending at the police station, Duayaw Nkwanta.

Plea

The Defendant pleaded not liable to the reliefs sought by the Plaintiff

The case of the Defendant

The Defendant denied the claim of the Plaintiff and stated that the land was acquired by

their late mother and as descendant of the late and as he and the Plaintiff are the only

surviving children of their late mother, they have all cultivated portions of the land and

only went pruned cocoa trees he has planted on the portion he has cultivated.

MODE OF TRIAL

The court did not order the parties to file pleadings. The mode of trial was by way of oral

evidence. The Plaintiff testified himself and called no other witness. The Defendant also

testified herself and called no other witness.

STANDARD OF PROOF, BURDEN OF PROOF AND PERSUASION

A writ of summon as a form of civil litigation, the standard of proof is one on balance of

probabilities or preponderance of probabilities. The proof as prescribed in civil trials is

provided in section 10, 11 and 12 of the Evidence Act, 1975 (NRCD 323). These sections

on burden of proof, burden of persuasion and burden of producing evidence, provide

thus:

(1) For the purposes of this Act, the burden of persuasion means the obligation of a party

to establish a requisite degree of belief concerning a fact in the mind of the tribunal of fact

or the Court.

(2) The burden of persuasion may require a party

(a) to raise a reasonable doubt concerning the existence or non-existence of a fact, or

(b) to establish the existence or non-existence of a fact by a preponderance of the

probabilities or by proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

11 (1) For the purposes of this Act, the burden of producing evid