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FRANCIS H. ABRAHAM v. FIDELITY BANK GHANA LIMITED

2024

Areas of Law

  • Banking and Finance Law
  • Contract Law
  • Tort Law
  • Civil Procedure

AI Generated Summary

The High Court of Ghana, per Justice Sedina Agbemava, held Fidelity Bank liable for breach of contract, negligence, and defamation arising from its freezing of Mr. F.H. Abrahams cedi and dollar accounts at its A & C Mall Branch after being served, not with a court order, but with processes from litigation between Mr. Abraham and his estranged wife, Mrs. Heather Abraham. Despite a clear High Court order on 6 June 2018 to pay US$65,000 to Mrs. Abraham and to lift any hold, and subsequent affirmations up to the Supreme Court, the bank refused for three years to defreeze the accounts and dishonoured cheques, including one to counsel. The court rejected the banks reliance on res judicata and status quo preservation, reaffirmed that the bankercustomer relationship is debtorcreditor, not fiduciary, and awarded general, exemplary damages and interest, cautioning banks against self-imposed freezes without legal bars such as garnishee or freezing orders.

JUDGMENT