JOHN TETTEH PARDIE TSOKPOR v. QUARSHIE NYARKO & ORS

JUDGMENT

MARFUL- SAU, JA: -

This is an appeal against the ruling of the High Court sitting at Tema and dated the 30th August 2013. In the said ruling the trial High Court granted an application for interlocutory injunction filed by the Plaintiff/Respondent on the 14th June 2013 and found at page 127 of the record of appeal. In granting the application the trial court ordered at page 201 thus:

“It is ordered that each party to the suit by themselves, their assigns, workers, privies etc be restrained from developing, selling, constructing or engaging in any economic activity on the land.”

Dissatisfied with the ruling the 2nd and 3rd Defendant/Appellants have appealed to this court relying on the following grounds;-

“(a) The ruling is against the weight of evidence

(b) The trial court erred when it granted the order of interlocutory injunction restraining the 2nd and 3rd defendants from quiet enjoyment of the parcel of land situate, lying and being at Abbekorpe between Dawhenya and Afienya covering an approximate area of 250.1 acres in violation of the order of quiet enjoyment and perpetual injunction granted in favour of the 2nd and 3rd defendants against the Plaintiff’s family in the judgment dated 13th December 2007 in suit No. AC 158/2006 titled Abraham Tetteh Pardie & Another Vrs Abraham Tetteh Kuntor Konortey & 7 Others.

(c) The trial court did not give adequate consideration to the 2nd and 3rd defendants’ case.

The brief facts of the case are that the Plaintiff herein referred to as respondent issued a writ of summons at the High Court, Tema, claiming the following:

(a) Declaration that the plaintiff family is the owner of the land described in paragraph 13 of the statement of claim. 3

(b) Damages for trespass

(c) Recovery of possession

(d) Perpetual injunction

The suit originally had two defendants namely Quarshie Nyarko and Ahmed Salem. During the pendency of the suit the 3rd defendant KPES Construction Co. Ltd and the 4th defendant Ebenezer Pilei Pardie applied and were joined to the suit. In his statement of claim the respondent pleaded that he was the head of Narh Tsokpor family of Abbekorpe and that the action was on behalf of the family. The respondent further pleaded that his family was part of the Block Wem branch of the Ablewankpor clan of Prampram, who were the allodial owners of the land in dispute. The defendants were described as persons who have purportedly taken grants of respondent’s family land and destroying the properti