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July 12, 2018
HIGH COURT
GHANA
CORAM
RULING
The Plaintiffs issued this writ for:
i. An order of this Court directed at the 2nd Defendant to stop any further deduction from the Plaintiffs' allowance for the purpose of Pensions Medical Scheme.
ii. An order of this Court directed at the 1st Defendant to refund all moneys collected from the Plaintiffs for the purpose of Pensions Medical Scheme.
iii. Cost including legal fees.
Plaintiffs claim they are pensioners on the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) living in the Central Tongu umbrella body coordinating the affairs of SSNIT pensioners throughout the country and 2nd Defendant a statutory body. Plaintiffs are members of the Defendants association and that all members of Defendant association in Adidome have subscribed to the National Health Insurance Scheme. It is Plaintiffs case that they received their monthly pensions for SSNIT (2nd Defendant) who they authorized to deduction GH¢1.00 each month to the paid to 1st Defendant association. In 2013 1st Defendant proposed to set up a Pensions Medical Scheme to be funded by deductions from member's monthly allowances. Plaintiffs claim they opposed the said deductions which they said they will not subscribe to. However, since 2013 the 2nd Defendant has been deducting GH¢4.00 from their pensions each month and paying to the 1st Defendant for the Pensions Medical Scheme, which Plaintiff refused to be members of. It is their case that despite several protestations the Defendants still deduct the monthly dues hence this writ. In the defence of 2nd Defendant they admit deduction of GH€4.00 “as additional dues from each member since February 2014” to refund a medical scheme for the members of the 1st Defendant. Second (2nd) Defendant says that since the agreement to deduct these dues, it has not received any advice to stop the deductions from the pensions of members of Adidome branch.
Counsel for 1st Defendant filed a conditional appearance praying this Court to dismiss Plaintiffs suit on ground that the action was commenced in the wrong forum. Counsel for 1st Defendant then filed a motion on notice to strike out Plaintiffs writ under Order 2 and 3 on grounds that:
a) The writ of summons is fundamentally defective and or void.
b) The action was commenced at the wrong forum
c) Plaintiffs lacked capacity to commence the action.
The Court thus proceeded to receive the written submissions of both Counsel.
Counsel for Plaintiffs Mr. Emile Agbakpe submitted that Plaintiffs are membe
AI Generated Summary
In the High Court, Ho, Justice N. C. A. Agbevor (Justice of the Appeal Court) ruled on a motion challenging the capacity and forum of a suit brought by SSNIT pensioners Gbeve Samuel and Olas Anthony Abusa against the National Pensioners Association and SSNIT. The pensioners sought to stop and recoup monthly GH¢4.00 deductions made by SSNIT since 2013 to fund a National Pensioners Association Pensions Medical Scheme, asserting they had authorized only GH¢1.00 and were already covered under the National Health Insurance Scheme. SSNIT admitted the GH¢4.00 deduction as “additional dues” for the scheme. Addressing forum first, the Court interpreted Order 3 Rule 1(5) of C.I. 47 to avoid absurdity and held the case properly filed in Ho because the defendants carry on business in the Volta Region. Turning to capacity, the Court held the plaintiffs’ power of attorney was defective under Act 549 for lack of donor signature and witness attestation, leaving them without capacity to litigate on behalf of the Adidome SSNIT Pensioners Association. Consequently, the writ was not properly before the Court and the action was struck out.