GUARDIAN ASSURANCE CO., LTD. v. AGBEMATU

The Court of Appeal, per Archer J.A. with concurrences by Azu Crabbe J.S.C. and Prempeh J.S.C., reviewed an action by the injured respondent, Kwadzovi Agbematu, to enforce a High Court judgment against the insurer of the vehicle’s driver under section 10 of the Motor Vehicles (Third Party Insurance) Act, 1958. The insurer denied liability, alleging Agbematu was the driver’s employed mate and outside policy coverage. The court upheld the High Court’s factual finding that Agbematu was not a mate, noting the respondent’s evidence and the insured driver’s ultimately unhelpful testimony. Critical documents asserting “mate” status were rightly rejected as inadmissible under Order 37, r. 62 because they were made by an interested person when proceedings were anticipated, and the admitted claim form did not prove its contents under R. v. Harris. The court dismissed the appeal on the merits but found the High Court’s costs award manifestly excessive given the unexplained delay not attributable to the insurer, reducing costs from ¢1,500.00 to ¢100.00.