GH - FEDERATED COMMODITIES LIMITED v. CHRISTIAN OWUSU

JUDGMENT

By a Writ of Summons and Statement of Claim issued from the Registry of this court on 14/12/2016, the Plaintiff which described itself as a Registered Licensed Cocoa Buying Company, claimed the following reliefs from the Defendant who was employed as a District Marketing Officer (DMO) in the Plaintiff Company:

a) Recovery of the sum of One Hundred and Forty- Two Thousand, One Hundred and Thirty- One Ghana Cedis (GHC 142,131.00) being the sum of money advanced to the Defendant by the Plaintiff for purchase of 424 and 437.73 bags of cocoa beans and fertilizers respectively but has failed to do so and the cost of Plaintiff’s fertilizers sold by the Defendant which he has refused to account for despite repeated demands on him by Plaintiff.

b) Interest on the said sum mentioned in relief (i) at the prevailing bank lending rate from 28th May, 2012 up to the date of full and final payment.

c) Cost on full indemnity basis.

BACKGROUND FACTS

According to the Plaintiff, the Defendant was the District Marketing Officer (DMO) in charge of the Plaintiff’s Konongo District in the Ashanti Region. Per the practice of the Plaintiff’s business, money was advanced to the Defendant at the beginning of every cocoa season to enable him purchase cocoa beans for the Plaintiff Company. In the 2011/2012 and 2012/2013 cocoa seasons, the Defendant could not deliver all the cocoa beans for which monies had been paid to him. At the beginning of each cocoa season, it was also the practice of the Defendant that fertilizer will be delivered to the Defendant for onward sale to the farmers. It is alleged that in the 2011/2012 and 2012/2013 cocoa seasons, the Defendant failed to pay for the 437.73 bags of fertilizer which he sold to farmers. On or about 28th May, 2013, the Defendant in writing undertook to settle the sum of GHC 142,131.00 but refused to pay. Rather, he tendered his resignation letter in July 2013, but the Defendant rejected the same and interdicted him.

These allegations have been denied by the Defendant on the bases that in the 2011-2012 cocoa season, monies advanced to him for the purchase of cocoa were all accounted for to the satisfaction of the Plaintiff including Purchasing Clerks Recovery of 130 bags, 411 bags of cocoa lost on account of being rotten due to bad weather and therefore unfit for export and 58 bags which were lost. In 2012/2013 season, the Defendant claimed that monies advanced to him for the same purpose were accounted for and there was pu

JUDGMENT

b) Interest on the said sum mentioned in relief (i) at the prevailing bank lending rate from 28th May, 2012 up to the date of full and final payment.

c) Cost on full indemnity basis.

BACKGROUND FACTS

FEDERATED COMMODITIES LIMITED v. CHRISTIAN OWUSU

Areas of Law

JUDGMENT