ERIC VAICOUNT ADDO VS CYNTHIA CARR & ANOR

AMALEBOBA (MRS), J. A.

The jurisdiction of this Court has been invoked by a Notice of Appeal filed by the 1st Defendant/Appellant (hereinafter referred to as the 1st Defendant), against a Ruling of the High Court, Kumasi.

Before we can proceed any further on the date of the Ruling appealed against and the nature of the Appeal, we will proceed to determine a preliminary legal objection raised by Counsel for Plaintiff/Respondent (hereinafter referred to as the Plaintiff).

PRELIMINARY OBJECTION

Counsel for Plaintiff contends, that since there are two Notices of Appeal contained in the Record of Appeal, against two different Rulings of the High Court, Kumasi, there is no clarity as to which of the Appeals is to be determined by this Court.

According to Counsel for Plaintiff, this lack of clarity is further deepened by Counsel for 1st Defendant, who in his Written Submission refers to a date as being the date of the decision appealed against, when in fact no Ruling was delivered by the High Court, Kumasi on the said date.

Counsel for Plaintiff argued further that, on 7th December, 2022 this Court restored the 1st Defendant’s Appeal which had been struck out for want of prosecution.

This Appeal was filed against the Ruling of the High Court granting an Order of Interlocutory Injunction, against the Defendants, on 30th October 2020. The said Ruling is at pages 47 – 56 of the Record of Appeal and the Notice of Appeal appears at pages 59 – 61 of the Record of Appeal.

According to Counsel for the Plaintiff, the 1st Defendant then filed an Application for Stay of Execution, which the High Court dismissed on 29th January 2021. 1st Defendant filed another Appeal against the Ruling of the High Court, Kumasi.

The said Ruling is at pages 108 – 116 of the Record of Appeal and the Notice of Appeal appears at pages 117 and 118 of the Record of Appeal.

According to Counsel for Plaintiff, at page 1 of the Written Submission of Counsel for 1st Defendant, it was indicated that the instant Appeal is against the Ruling of the High Court, Kumasi dated 8th February 2022. Counsel for Plaintiff submitted that since there is no Ruling of the High Court, Kumasi dated 8th February 2022, it is unclear which of the Appeals before the Court the Plaintiff ought to respond to and for its lack of clarity, the Appeal be dismissed.

Though the 1st Defendant filed no reply to the Submission of the Plaintiff, Counsel for 1st Defendant contended in Court, that the date stated as 8th Febru