Try asking the following...
Try asking the following...
June 5, 1939
DIVISIONAL COURT (COLONIAL)
GHANA
CORAM
Judgment:
In this action the Plaintiff claims possession of a certain property in Accra from the Defendant who is in possession.
The Plaintiff is the wife of the late P. A. Renner well known for so many years in this Court.
The Defendant is admitted to be the son of P. A. Renner by another woman. He states that his mother was married to P. A. Renner according to native custom.
I may say that the Defendant is a true son of his father as though he had no counsel to assist him he conducted his case with ability and made his points clearly.
As he is admittedly in occupation the burden of proof is on the Plaintiff to show a good title entitling her to possession.
According to the Statement of Claim she bases her title on a deed dated March 29th, 1929 made between P. A. Renner and the Plaintiff whereby P. A. Renner conveyed certain property - including the property in question - to the Plaintiff to be held on certain trusts for the benefit of the children of the marriage.
The Defendant pleaded:-
1. (a) That he had been placed in possession after the death of his father by Mr. Awooner Williams the head of the family.
(b) That his mother had been married to P. A. Renner according to native custom.
(c) That according to native custom he had a life interest in the property.
As to this plea I need only say that there is no independent evidence that the Defendant's mother was married to P. A. Renner according to mative custom or that the custom alleged as to the life interest of the Defendant exists or that he was put in possession by Mr. Williams or that Mr. Williams had a right to put him in possession.
But the Defendant pleaded:-
2. That the deed under which the Plaintiff claimed had been revoked or as he put it was "dead."
Now the deed contained an express provision that P. A. Renner might at any time by deed or Will or Codicil absolutely revoke the trusts contained in the deed - which in effect would revoke the deed.
By a Will dated November 8th, 1930, which has been admitted to probate P. A. Renner revoked, recalled, cancelled, and renounced all and every former disposition of his property.
In my opinion this operated on the death of the Testator as a revocation of the deed of 1929 .
It is true that the Will renewed the trust and appointed the Plaintiff as executor and trustee but none the less the earlier deed was revoked and the Plaintiff in this action is basing her title on a document which has been revoked.
A Plaintiff suing for possessi
AI Generated Summary
Cooper, Ag. J, decided a possession dispute over property in Accra between the widow of the late P. A. Renner and Renner’s son by another woman. The widow grounded her claim on a March 29, 1929 deed conveying the property to her to hold on trust for children of the marriage. The son, already in occupation, advanced defenses based on native custom—placement in possession by Mr. Awooner Williams, his mother’s customary marriage to Renner, and a life interest—but the court found no independent evidence for those assertions. The decisive plea was that the deed was “dead.” Renner’s November 8, 1930 will, admitted to probate, revoked all prior dispositions; because the deed expressly allowed revocation by will, the will operated upon Renner’s death to revoke the 1929 deed. Although the will renewed trusts and appointed the widow as executor and trustee, the suit was premised on the revoked deed. Applying the rule that a plaintiff must succeed on the strength of her own title, the court held no title was shown and entered judgment for the defendant, noting that amendment would not cure the defect because defenses under a will-based claim would differ.