EBENEZER AFFLAH SACKEY v. ISAAC TETTEH
2019
COURT OF APPEAL
GHANA
CORAM
- C. J. HONYENUGA, J.A. (PRESIDING)
- AVRIL LOVELACE-JOHNSON, J.A.
- N.C.A. AGBEVOR, J.A
Areas of Law
- Property Law
- Procedural Law
- Constitutional Law
- Contract Law
2019
COURT OF APPEAL
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
The case involves a dispute over property ownership. The High Court ruled in favor of the plaintiff, deeming him to have proved his root of title and continuous possession of the land. The defendant's claims and counterclaims were found to be without merit due to the insufficiency of evidence and lack of proper title transfer. The Court of Appeal also dismissed the defendant's appeal and upheld the High Court's decision.
HONYENUGA, JA
On the 31st day of January 2017, the High Court, Land Division, Accra entered judgment for the plaintiff on his claim and dismissed the counter claim of the defendant.
Aggrieved by the decision of the High Court, the defendant/appellant filed an appeal on the 15th February 2017 based on the sole omnibus ground which was subsequently amended on the 11th June 2018 as follows:-
“a. The judgment is against the weight of evidence adduced at the trial.
Grounds (2) – (6) Added By Leave Granted on 11th June, 2018 as follows:-
b. The trial court erred when it failed to hold that the gift of the disputed land by the Nungua Stool to the plaintiff was illegal.
c. The trial court erred when it held that the registered indenture of Mallam Musa was invalid, leading to miscourage of justice (sic).
d. The trial court erred when it failed to hold that the plaintiff’s action is statute barred.
e. The trial court erred when it failed to declare that the plaintiff’s Power of Attorney dated 14th June, 2013 was defective.
f. The trial court exceeded its jurisdiction and or erred by departing from and refusing to be bond by the decision of the Court of Appeal”.
The defendant/appellant seeks a relief from this court for an order to set aside the whole judgment and its consequential orders awarded by the High Court and an outright dismissal of the plaintiff’s action with costs and judgment entered in his favour.
In this appeal, the defendant/appellant would be simply referred to as the defendant and the plaintiff/appellant as the plaintiff.
A brief background to this case is that the plaintiff acquired a deed of gift dated 4th December, 1973 from the Nungua Stool and registered same as Land Registry Number 3200/27087. He made periodic ground rents payments, paid homage fees and enjoyed quiet possession until sometime in September 2012, a period of 39 years, when the defendant realized that the defendant had trespassed unto his land by carrying out building operations. The defendant denied building on the plaintiff’s land and claimed that it is a case of a mistaken identity of the plaintiff’s land. The plaintiff then caused the instant amended writ to be issued against the defendant claiming the following reliefs:-
“1. A declaration of title to all that piece or parcel of land situate lying and being at Nungua New Town in the Greater Accra of the Republic of Ghana and having and approximate area of 0.34 area (sic) and bounded on the North-East by Mrs. Dora