J. K. Baffoe v. Oppong Kyekyeku

The Court of Appeal (M. Owusu, J.A.) dismissed an appeal arising from a collapsed joint venture to import and sell NGK spark plugs. The appellant sought a refund of US$20,000, contending the trial judge improperly relied on the respondent’s pre-suit statement of account (Exhibit A) without shipping documents or receipts and that the High Court’s judgment was against the weight of evidence. The respondent maintained that Exhibit A reflected six consignments shipped from Holland to Ghana, listed costs, duties, and sales, credited appellant’s US$20,000 investment, and showed appellant had received US$518,800 from sales and remitted US$412,560 for purchases. The appellate court found Exhibit A credible, emphasized appellant’s failure to tender his alleged sales notebook or any account, and affirmed the trial judge’s credibility findings and reliance on Exhibit A. Applying the Evidence Decree’s preponderance standard and burden-of-production rules, the court rejected the best evidence argument and affirmed dismissal of the claim; a separate US$17,800 itemized counterclaim was rightly refused. Costs were awarded against the appellant.