FELICIA АМОАКО v. ABRAHАМ ОТCHERE

This was an appeal by a former cohabitant (appellant) against the District Court’s decision that awarded title and possession of a five-bedroom house at Ampabame No.1 to the respondent and granted her GH¢15,000 damages for breach of promise to marry. The Court of Appeal (Dr. Poku Adusei JA) thoroughly re-examined the documentary and oral evidence, giving particular weight to the respondent’s site plan, allocation note, construction receipts and the corroborating testimony of artisans who actually built the house. Finding the appellant’s account unsubstantiated, internally inconsistent and unsupported by any contemporaneous documents, the court affirmed the respondent’s ownership and ordered the appellant to vacate the property. It held that the counterclaim for breach of promise to marry was filed thirteen years after the alleged breach and was therefore statute-barred; in any event no credible evidence of a promise or of consequent loss was produced. The appeal consequently failed in its entirety, the damages award to the appellant was set aside and costs of GH¢20,000 were imposed on her.