HAWKRAD JOD CONTRACTS v. CAITEC DELTA LIMITED

BARTELS-KODWO JSC :-

On the 24th of July, 2019 the Court of Appeal delivered a judgment in favour of the Defendant/Appellant/Respondent. The Plaintiff/Respondent/Appellant the victor in the trial court naturally dissatisfied with that Judgment filed this instant Appeal. The parties will be referred to in this judgment by their original designations in the trial court as the Plaintiff and the Defendant.

FACTS/BACKGROUND

By its Writ of Summons and a Statement of claim the Plaintiff sought the reliefs below:

(a) A Declaration that the 1st Defendant is in breach of the warranty covering the ten (10) Shackman Trucks purchased by the Plaintiff from the 1st Defendant to execute a haulage contract with Adamus Resources Limited.

(b) An order for the recovery of GH¢1,341,474.75 being the total loss of income for the period February to June, 2014 as a result of the breakdown of the said Trucks.

(c) An Injunction restraining the 2nd Defendant from making any further deductions from Plaintiff’s account with her to meet the payment of the outstanding balance on the purchase price of the said trucks; and not to honour the guarantee issued in favour of the 1st Defendant until the 1st Defendant has fully discharged her obligation under the warranty agreement with Plaintiff.

(d) Cost.

The Plaintiff issued a writ of summons in the High Court together with a motion on notice to restrain Cal Bank Limited (originally the Second Defendant in this action) and its officers from honouring a bank guarantee issued by the Plaintiff in favour of the Defendant. The bank guarantee was issued for the payment of the balance of the purchase price of ten (10) Shackman Tipper Trucks that the Plaintiff had purchased from the Defendant. The second Defendant was struck out as a party by the trial High Court therefore the claim against it remained moot. It nevertheless discharged its obligations and the trucks were paid for.

By an amended Statement of Claim filed on the 23rd of December 2014 the Plaintiff averred that in November 2013, it won a Near Pit haulage contract with Adamus Resources Limited to provide haulage at its Nzema gold mines. It took a loan facility with Cal Bank Ltd for the purchase of ten (10) tipper trucks to execute the haulage contract which was for an original period of six months.

The loan facility was in two parts, a short term loan of the Ghana Cedi equivalent of Four Hundred and Twenty – Two Thousand, Five Hundred United States Do