DR. ISSAH EGALA (DECEASED) SUBSTITUTED BY DR. ABDUL SALAM GRISSAH EGALA v KEL INVESTMENT LIMITED.
July 4, 2024
COURT OF APPEAL
GHANA
Areas of Law
- Property and Real Estate Law
- Civil Procedure
- Evidence Law
July 4, 2024
COURT OF APPEAL
GHANA
AI Generated Summary
The Court of Appeal of Ghana decided a boundary dispute between adjoining plots at the Airport Residential Area in Accra. The appellant acquired Plots D13 and D13A in 1987 from Emmanuel Cudjoe, while the respondent held Plot F1 through a chain of assignments originating from a Government grant. A court-appointed Lands Commission survey confirmed that the respondents boys quarters overlapped onto the appellants land. The High Court had dismissed the appellants claims on adverse possession. On appeal, Oppong JA held that an earlier interlocutory ruling had disallowed amendments to plead limitation and estoppel and, since that ruling was neither appealed nor set aside, those defences were waived. He further found that adverse possession failed because neither party nor their predecessors knew of the overlap, negating the intention to possess required by law. The Court set aside the High Courts decision, ordered demarcation (1.47 acres for the appellant; 1.31 acres for the respondent), denied damages, and awarded costs. Nkrumah JA concurred; Baffour JA dissented, urging affirmation on limitation and adverse possession grounds.
ANTHONY OPPONG, JA:
This is an appeal from the judgment of the High Court, Accra dated 6 th April 2005. In this appeal two main issues stand out for determination. They are whether the issues of laches and acquiescence and the statute of limitation could be deployed to determine the case in the face of a ruling by the court below disallowing those issues and whether in the circumstances of this case the respondent could be said to have been in adverse possession of the intruded land.
The plaintiff/appellant, now deceased and herein called simply as appellant, on 9 th February 1987 acquired Plot Nos. D13 and D13A, Airport Residential; Area, Accra from the late Mr. Emmanuel Cudjoe by way of an assignment. The late Mr. Emmanuel Cudjoe had himself acquired the land known as Plot D13 and D13A as a building lease from the Government of Ghana, which lease, at the trial, was tendered as Exhibit A.
The deed of assignment from the late Mr. E. Cudjoe to the appellant was tendered as Exhibit B at the trial. At the time of the acquisition by the appellant, a house had been built on it. Mr. Cudjoe's building lease and the deed of assignment from him to the appellant were both registered with the Lands Commission.
The total size of Plot D13 and D13A was given as 1.47 acres. When appellant took possession of his property, he wanted to be sure he was occupying what he had purchased. He consequently invited the Lands Commission who made the original grant to Mr. Cudjoe to verify it. Through the verification efforts, the appellant realized that a portion of the property of Defendant's/respondent's, hereafter called simply as respondent, being the outhouse popularly called boys quarters was sitting on a portion of his land. The appellant brought this to the attention of respondent. Initial discussions went on between the parties but the respondent would not accept any intervention by the Lands Commission, their common grantor, for the resolution of the matter. Just about that time, the respondent pulled down the boy's quarters for redevelopment. The appellant in resistance of such a move by the respondent went ahead to shift his wall to cover the area which formed part of the land the Lands Commission had granted to him.
Following the foregoing, the appellant instituted this action on 30 th November, 1999 against the respondent for the following reliefs:
a. Declaration of title to all that piece or parcel of land situate at Airport Residential Area, Accra and bounded on