GBEDEMAH v. AWOONOR-WILLAIMS

A judicial panel comprising Azu Crabbe, Apaloo, Siriboe, and Sowah and Archer JJA addressed how to classify and handle a counter-claim in an application involving a respondent’s claim and an applicant’s counter-claim. Drawing on Brett L.J.’s articulation in Winterfield v Bradum (3 Q.B.D.324 at p. 326), the court emphasized that a counter-claim may serve as a set-off, function like a cross-action, or arise from a wholly independent transaction, yet in all instances it stands as an independent and separate action. The judges expressly concurred with Brett L.J.’s formulation and decided that, for purposes of determining the issues in the application, the respondent’s claim and the applicant’s counter-claim should be treated as two wholly independent suits pending before the court, combined in one action for procedural convenience. The extract focuses on procedural classification rather than substantive merits.