DANSIAM AND SONS LIMITED v. BUDGET CASH AND CARRY LIMITED
2019
COURT OF APPEAL
GHANA
CORAM
- Korbieh, J.A. (PRESIDING)
- Sowah, J.A.
- Wood, J.A
Areas of Law
- Civil Procedure
- Evidence Law
- Contract Law
2019
COURT OF APPEAL
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
The appeal revisited the trial court's judgment favoring the plaintiff, a construction company that sought payment for works including unexpected additional costs. The defendant contested the additional costs and some aspects of the initial claims, leading to adjustments by the appellate court. The appellate court limited the awards to substantiated amounts, dismissed the additional costs, and upheld parts of the original reliefs based on the settled issues and evidence on record.
SOWAH, J.A.:
Introduction
This appeal is from the judgment of the Commercial Division of the High Court, Accra dated 14th February 2017 in which the defendant's counterclaim was dismissed in its entirety whilst the plaintiff was adjudged to recover the following:
Recovery of the sum of GH¢262,497.00
Interest on the said sum of GH¢262,497.00 from April 2013 to date of final payment
Costs inclusive of legal and administrative cost
Recovery of the sum of GH¢990,200.00 being additional cost for excavating and carting away from the inside of the warehouse at construction site of the defendant unsuitable clayey soil measuring 1380m2 and to a depth of 1.10m and hard core filling up levels and compacted in 225mm layers.
Interest on the sum of GH¢990,200 from April 2013 to date of final payment.
Dissatisfied with the trial court’s decision, the defendant/appellant filed a notice of appeal on 20th February 2017 and amended it on 25th January 2018 pursuant to leave.
The Grounds of appeal as filed are as follows:
The judgment is against the weight of evidence.
The learned trial Judge erred in the exercise of discretion in granting the amendment by ignoring relevant considerations including bad faith.
The learned trial Judge erred in misconstruing the issues set down for trial when he mis-stated the figures claimed and also the issues set down for trial.
The defendant/appellant is seeking the following reliefs from this court:
That the judgment of the High Court is reversed.
That all awards made in favour of the plaintiff should be reversed.
That the judgment be set aside and the plaintiff’s claim be dismissed.
That the defendant be granted judgment on the counterclaim proved
Background facts
The matters to be dealt with in this appeal make it necessary to give a background and chronology of the case in some detail for the sake of clarity. It is as follows:
The plaintiff/respondent (hereafter called the plaintiff) is a building construction company whilst the defendant/appellant (hereafter called the defendant) owns the warehouse which is the subject matter of the dispute. The plaintiff averred in her statement of claim that in 2012 she had been engaged by the defendant to undertake five separate jobs/works at defendant's warehouse at fixed sums, namely;
a. Construct a road for which she had been duly paid the agreed GH¢42,000
b. Inside filling and compactment for an agreed price of GH¢250,000 for which GH¢228,000 had been paid with a balance of G