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March 22, 1963
HIGH COURT
GHANA
CORAM
JUDGMENT OF PREMPEH J.
In this suit the plaintiffs by their amended writ claim against the defendants for: (a) An account of all the fish sold by the defendants from the catch made by the fishing vessel the Tito Gualdi on the 9th and 15th November, 1962; (b) An order upon the defendants for payment to the plaintiffs of the proceeds realised from the said sale; (c) A perpetual injunction restraining the defendants and their servants and agents from selling any further catches made by the said fishing vessel; and (d) A perpetual injunction restraining the defendants and their servants and agents from interfering in any way with the vessel during subsistence of the agreement of the 29th December, 1961. And in the alternative, the plaintiffs claim £G35,000 by way of damages for breach of contract.
By their statement of claim, the plaintiffs aver that by agreement dated the 29th December, 1961, the defendants agreed to sell to them a fishing vessel, the Tito Gualdi, upon the terms and conditions therein contained, and that on the 17th July, 1962, the said vessel arrived in Ghana and the plaintiffs started business with it. They plead that by the said agreement, possession of the said vessel was given to them and that they became responsible for the wages of the Italian captain and crew thereof and for their accommodation and also the upkeep of the said [p.316] vessel. They aver that in pursuance of the said agreement, they paid to the defendants various sums of money totalling over £G10,603 14s. 3d. towards the purchase price of the vessel, the wages of the crew and repairs and other incidental expenses for the running of the vessel. They maintain that in breach of the said agreement, the defendants wrongfully sold and appropriated to themselves all the catch made by the vessel on the 9th and 15th November, 1962, respectively, that the defendants had threatened to sell and to appropriate to themselves further catches, and that in further breach of the said agreement, the defendants had threatened to take away the said fishing vessel from Ghana. It is for these reasons that these proceedings have been instituted.
By their statement of defence, the defendants deny that by the terms of the said agreement of the 29th December, 1961, the plaintiffs were to have possession and/or control of the vessel, and they deny further that the plaintiffs have made any payments towards the purchase price thereof. They aver that the plaintiffs have paid to them in all the su
AI Generated Summary
Prempeh J adjudicated a business dispute between Fish & Meat Company Limited, Accra, and the owners of the fishing vessel Tito Gualdi. The parties had first executed a 4 December 1961 ‘lenders and borrowers’ supply agreement (exhibit A), then a 29 December 1961 sale agreement (exhibit B). After plaintiffs’ 3 May 1962 letter indicating no desire to buy, defendants nevertheless brought the vessel to Tema on 17 July 1962 and operations began. The court held Exhibit B superseded Exhibit A, and plaintiffs’ renunciation did not end the sale contract because defendants did not accept it. Extensive evidence showed plaintiffs effectively possessed and controlled the vessel: they housed and paid the crew, funded fuel, maintenance and equipment, and obtained licences naming them as owner on hire terms. Defendants’ sale of catches on 9 and 15 November 1962 was wrongful; the court ordered an account and payment of proceeds and granted a perpetual injunction restraining interference with plaintiffs’ possession and control. The counter-claim was dismissed and costs awarded.