EDWIN ANSAH HORTHMAN v. MASAUD ABUBAKAR

ADJEI-FRIMPONG, JSC:

This appeal involves a simple procedural issue; the power of trial Courts to enter judgment on admissions upon failure of a party to answer a request to admit facts pursuant to Order 23 of the High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2004 (C.I. 47). Could such judgment be entered even in the face of specific denial of the substance of the Plaintiff’s claim on the pleadings? And can such judgment be entered regardless of the nature of the Plaintiff’s reliefs?

The Plaintiff (before us as Plaintiff/Respondent/Respondent) commenced an action in the High Court seeking the following reliefs:

a. A declaration that the purported sale of the land by the Defendant to the Plaintiff which is situate at North-Labone, Accra and being the subject matter of this suit [was] fraudulently made.

b. An order for the recovery of USD 600,000 or its equivalent in Ghana cedis at the time of payment plus an additional sum of GHC 80,000 being monies owed by Defendant to the Plaintiff.

c. Interest on the said amount at the prevailing commercial bank rate from the 19th of May 2017 till date of final payment.

d. An order for the sale of the said property located at Mantey-Tsuru, Accra and registered as No. G.A. 48747 to offset the debt agreed.

e. Costs, including Solicitors fees.

f. Any other order(s) that the Honourable Court would deem fit.

The Plaintiff’s story is that, some time in 2016, the defendant represented to him that he owned a 0.58- acre plot of land at North-Labone which he was selling. On this representation, he agreed to buy the plot. For that, he made two payments of Six Hundred Thousand United States Dollars (USD 600,000) and eighty thousand Ghana Cedis (GHC 80,000) to the defendant. He however went to the land to discover that the defendant was not the owner and that the documents he prepared for him were fraudulent. He thus alleges fraud the particulars of which he sets out as follows:

“5(a) The Defendant sold or purported to sell land to Plaintiff which he knew he had no title to.

5(b) The documents of title to the land never emanated from the Lands Commission but were fake having been confirmed by the Lands Commission by it letter dated 26th June, 2018.”

The Plaintiff further pleads that the Defendant later agreed to refund his money to him. And as security for that, he handed over title documents over another property at Mantey-Tsuru, Accra No. G.A. 48747 Block 1 Section 093 to him. The Defendant has evinc