DHL GHANA LIMITED VS MERIDIAN PORT SERVICES LIMITED

Before the High Court, Mrs. Justice Angelina Mensah-Homiah considered a motion for stay of execution pending appeal against a default judgment dated 14 December 2018 and a ruling refusing the Defendant/Judgment Debtor leave to defend. Filed on 16 April 2019 with a 25-paragraph affidavit, the motion was opposed by the Plaintiff/Judgment Creditor, who alleged serial applications to abuse court rules and noted a separate stay motion at the Court of Appeal whose status was unknown. The Applicants grounds included counsels failure to enter appearance and a dispute over quantum based on a later invoice reducing charges, with GH95,000 already paid. Applying established principles on stays—discretion, exceptional circumstances, hardship, and ensuring appeals are not nugatory—the judge found the Applicant owes money but contests amount, saw limited merit only as to quantum, and granted a conditional stay: payment of 50% of the judgment debt into court within 14 days and costs of GH2,000 against the Applicant, while declining to revisit previously rejected grounds and avoiding the merits.