GBEDEMAH v. AWOONOR-WILLAIMS
October 30, 1969
SUPREME COURT
GHANA
CORAM
- Azu Crabbe
- Apaloo
- Siriboe
- Sowah and Archer JJA
Areas of Law
- Civil Procedure
October 30, 1969
SUPREME COURT
GHANA
CORAM
EXTRACT FROM JUDGMENT:
“A counter-claim is to all intents and purposes an action by the applicant against the respondent. It is an independent and separate action. In Winterfield v Bradum, 3 Q.B.D.324 at p. 326, Brett L.J. said:
‘A counter-claim is sometimes a mere set-off, sometimes it is in the nature of a cross action, sometimes it is in respect of a wholly independent transaction. I think the true mode of considering the claim and counter-claim is, that they are wholly independent suits which, for convenience of procedure, are combined in one action.’
We concur in this view, an would, for the purposes of determining the issues raised in this application, treat the respondent’s claim and the applicant’s counter-claim as if they were two wholly independent suits pending before this court.
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AI Generated Summary
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.