JUDGMENT

DARKO ASARE JSC:

1. This is an appeal filed against the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Accra dated the 17th of March 2022 which had affirmed an earlier judgment of the High Court Accra.

2. For purposes of convenience, the Parties in these proceedings, shall bear the same designation that they bore in the trial court and accordingly the Plaintiff/Appellant herein shall be described as the Plaintiff, whilst the Defendant/Respondent herein as the Defendant.

FACTS

1. The facts giving rise to the instant appeal have been well set out in the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Accra and it will be necessary only to refer to the salient points necessary for the determination of this appeal, as set out in the said judgment.

2. The 1st Plaintiff is a limited liability company incorporated under the laws of Ghana whilst the 2nd is its Executive Director. The Defendant is a well-known banking institution in Ghana and the 1st Plaintiff’s bank. The Plaintiff has been trading with Comma Oil and Chemicals Limited, a UK-based company, since 1994. Due to their long-standing relationship, Comma Oil extended an interestfree, collateral-free 60-day credit facility to the Plaintiff. This arrangement allowed the Plaintiff to purchase products on credit and repay within 60 days. In October 2014, the Plaintiff ordered £48,818.86 worth of products from Comma Oil on credit, which the latter agreed to supply subject to the Plaintiff settling an outstanding balance of £5,017 due on a previous consignment. To settle the said outstanding amount, the Plaintiff instructed the Defendant to issue a £5,017 banker's draft to Comma Oil on November 18, 2014. However, the Defendant failed to provide the required authorization, causing the draft to be returned unpaid when Comma Oil presented it to HSBC on November 25, 2014. Despite assurances from the Defendant, the draft was returned unpaid twice more. It was finally paid on January 5, 2015. The Plaintiff alleged that the Defendant later admitted to paying the amount into the wrong account and failing to identify the correct account. Due to the delay, the Plaintiff requested the Defendant to prepare a SWIFT transfer for Comma Oil's benefit. However, the Defendant unilaterally cancelled the SWIFT transfer after locating the correct account. Plaintiff also took with the Defendant's unauthorized contact with Comma Oil during the delay, describing it as unethical. It was Plaintiff’s contention that the Defendant's negli