JACOB NARH & ANOTHER v. VISION 2020 LTD & ANOTHER

At the Court of Appeal, Sowah, J.A., writing for a panel that included Oppong, J.A., and Mensah‑Homiah, J.A., allowed an appeal by a fish‑farming company and its manager against a default judgment and a subsequent ruling of the Odumase Krobo Circuit Court. The fishermen‑respondents had sued in August 2014 for declarations of unlawful arrest and detention, malicious prosecution, and recovery of seized fishing equipment after incidents on the Volta Lake. The Circuit Court had struck out the entire suit for want of prosecution on 11 September 2014, yet the plaintiffs later filed and moved a motion for judgment in default of defence while the suit remained off the list and, after re‑listment, obtained judgment without proper procedure: no interlocutory judgment under Order 13 for unliquidated damages and no hearing notice for damages assessment. Applying audi alteram partem and authorities including Ghassoub v Dizengoff, the Court of Appeal held the ensuing judgment void ab initio, vacated both the 29 April 2016 judgment and the 30 January 2019 ruling, affirmed certain costs tied to re‑listment, recommended transfer to a differently constituted court, and made no order as to costs on appeal.