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JUDGMENT
HONYENUGA, JSC:-
Introduction
On the 25th day of November, 2020, we delivered judgment in this appeal but deferred
our reasons, which we now give. We unanimously dismissed the appeal and affirmed
the judgment of the Court of Appeal.
The parties in this appeal would finally see the end of litigation for having been
litigating in the Courts of competent jurisdiction for about twenty years. This appeal is
from the Judgment of the Court of Appeal dated the 16th day of February, 2017. The
appellants (that is the defendants/co-defendant/respondents/appellants) were the
defendants and Co-defendant respectively in the High Court. The Codefendant/respondent/appellant was a counterclaimant in the trial court and succeeded
in his Counterclaim but lost on appeal at the Court of Appeal when the respondent
herein (that is the plaintiff/appellant/respondent) appealed against the judgment of the
trial High Court. In this appeal, the first, second and third
defendants/respondents/appellants together with the codefendant/respondent/appellant would be designated as the first, second and third
appellants and the co-defendant/appellant respectively. The
plaintiff/appellant/respondent would be referred to as the respondent.
Background to the Appeal
The respondent’s case is that on the 14th October 1999, the 1st appellant agreed to sell
his piece or parcel of land situate lying and being at Oyarifa – Accra to him at an
agreed purchase price of Forty-two Million old Cedis (¢42million). The respondent
averred that it was agreed that, he paid a deposit of Four Million cedis (¢4million) at
the rate of ¢4,500 to the English Pound (£) as part-payment for the land and a receipt
dated 14th October 1999 was issued to him. The said amount was to be used by the
first appellant to prepare an Indenture to convey the land to him. The respondent
further averred in his statement of claim that the receipt issued to him is entitled
“LAND SALE RECEIPT”, which expressly stated that the first appellant had relinquished
his interest in the land and it states:-
“This is to certify that I the undersigned Edward Acquah … of Post Office Box
….. in the Greater Accra Region of the Republic of Ghana have received the sum
of four million cedis only (¢4,000,000.00) being PART payment of purchased
money made to cover a plot of land sold and delivered to Mr. Edward Kwasi
Santeng of P. O. Box 1397 Accra ….
This land is situate lying and being at OYARIFA – Accra in the Greater Accr