April 6, 2022
SUPREME COURT
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
This Supreme Court decision, authored by Justice V. J. M. Dotse, concerns the judicial sale of House No. DF 17 at Race Course near Lapaz, Accra. The property was attached to satisfy a debt owed by Faustina Sakyi (the Defendants wife) to Rosemary Onipayede, and was purchased at auction by the Plaintiff for GH25,000, yielding a certificate of purchase in January 2013. After a writ of possession issued against the Plaintiff in 2015, he petitioned the Chief Justice; the Judicial Secretary confirmed his lawful possession and advised litigation. The Plaintiff sued for declaratory title and injunction; the High Court granted judgment and the Court of Appeal affirmed. On appeal, the Supreme Court upheld the concurrent findings, applied Order 45 of C.I. 47 and the Evidence Acts presumption of regularity, rejected arguments that the sale was illegal, declined relief absent a pleaded counterclaim, and held auction purchasers have no prior duty to investigate title. The appeal was dismissed and the lower court decisions affirmed.
DOTSE JSC:-
INTRODUCTION
On the 16th of March 2022, this court by a unanimous decision dismissed the appeal filed by the Defendant/Appellant/Appellant hereafter referred to as the Defendant, against the decision of the Court of Appeal dated 23rd July 2020 which affirmed an earlier trial High Court decision dated 9th October 2019, in favour of the Plaintiff/Respondent/Respondent, hereafter referred to as the Plaintiff. We reserved our reasons for the said unanimous decision and and we proceed to proffer the reasons as follows:-
In view of the complexities of the facts which have led to the appeal, we have decided to set out in very clear details, the evolution of the facts in the instant appeal from the High Court, through the Court of Appeal to this court. It is also considered worthwhile to set out with clarity the facts of a related suit which commenced in the District Court, Kaneshie, Accra, Suit No. A2/21/11 intitutled Rosemary Onipayede – Plaintiff v Faustina Sakyi & Anr – Defendants.
The 1st Defendant named supra is the wife of the Defendant herein.
PREAMBLE
The property at the center of this appeal for which the parties have litigated from the High Court all the way to the Supreme Court is described as H/No DF 17 Race Course, near Lapaz, Accra. This property was purchased by the Plaintiff hereinat a public auction where the property was being sold in satisfaction of a debt owed by the wife of the Defendant herein.
The Plaintiff was declared the highest bidder and upon the payment of GH¢ 65,000.00 was issued with a Certificate of Purchase on the 8th of January 2013, which was duly signed by a Judicial Officer and numbered J.S 7525900.
In March 2015, the Plaintiff was served with a Writ of possession from the High Court requesting him to vacate the purchased property on the grounds that the property belongsto Defendant.
The Plaintiff petitioned the Office of the Chief Justice concerning the matters arising after the judicial sale of the property.On 13th August 2015, the Judicial Secretary in response to his petition,stated thatinvestigations revealed that hehas been lawfully placed in possession of the purchased property. The Judicial Secretary advised the Plaintiff to seek redress through legal proceedings to vindicate his title to the property.
The Plaintiff therefore caused a writ of summons to be issued against the Defendant and also filed an application for injunction in the matter. The High Court at the conclusion of the entire proceed