DORIS DERY VS EDLORM HOUSING GH. LTD
2015
HIGH COURT
GHANA
CORAM
- HIS LORDSHIP JUSTICE KWABENA ASUMAN-ADU
Areas of Law
- Contract Law
- Civil Procedure
2015
HIGH COURT
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
The Plaintiff, Doris Dery, through her attorney, sued Edlorm Housing Ghana Limited to recover GH¢82,290.00 paid for a three-bedroom terrace house, along with interest, damages for breach of contract, and loss of monetary value. The Defendant did not attend court, leading to interlocutory judgment and subsequent damages assessment. The court found in favor of the Plaintiff, ordering the return of the principal amount, interest, and general damages for breach of contract, rejecting further damages for loss of monetary value, as interest compensated for the currency devaluation.
The Plaintiff herein, Doris Dery, per her lawful Attorney, Rev. Nana Adjei Ntow, commenced the instant action against the Defendant herein, Edlorm Housing Ghana Limited, by filing a writ of summons together with a statement of claim on 3rd December 2014 for the following reliefs:
1. Recovery of the amount of eighty-two thousand, two hundred and ninety Ghana cedis (GH¢82,290.00), being the amount paid to the Defendant by the Plaintiff on the 8th day of April 2011 for a three-bedroom terrace house which never materialized.
2. Interest at the prevailing bank rate on the said eighty-two thousand, two hundred and ninety Ghana cedis (GH¢82,290.00) from the 8th day of April 2011 to the date of final payment.
3. General damages for breach of contract for failing to deliver the said three-bedroom terrace house.
4. General damages for loss of monetary value.
5. Costs.
The Defendant was served with the writ of summons and statement of claim on the same day, but it did not enter appearance. So, on 11th December 2014, the Plaintiff filed a motion ex-parte for final judgment in default of appearance, which was struck out by this court on 23rd December 2014 as being incompetent.
On 8th January 2015, the Plaintiff filed another ex-parte motion for interlocutory judgment in default of appearance, which was granted by this court on the 9th day of January 2015, and the case was adjourned to 27th January 2015 for the Plaintiff to prove her damages.
On the said adjourned date, the Plaintiff, per her lawful Attorney, gave evidence on oath in proof of her damages. The Plaintiff’s case is that she is a worker at Golden Star Bogoso/Prestea Mines Co. Ltd., and the Defendant is a real estate developer purporting to be building modern houses for sale.
Sometime in February 2011, she was pregnant and needed a suitable home as part of her preparations for her first born. In the process, the Plaintiff came across an advertisement on the internet placed there by the Defendant that it had modern houses ready and vacant for sale in and around Accra. The advert carried with it a contact number, so the Plaintiff called the contact number, which was answered by a man by the name Eddie Akotey, who identified himself as the Managing Director of the Defendant Company.
The said Eddie Akotey, the Managing Director, invited the Plaintiff and her husband to his office, then located in Accra. When they went, the Managing Director took the Plaintiff through some detailed and convincing e