MOHAMMED ABDALLAH VS KOFI ARHIN GHANSAH
2022
HIGH COURT
GHANA
CORAM
- HER LADYSHIP JUSTICE ANANDA J. AIKINS (MRS)
Areas of Law
- Property and Real Estate Law
- Evidence Law
- Civil Procedure
- Tort Law
2022
HIGH COURT
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
This High Court judgment by Her Ladyship Justice Ananda J. Aikins (Mrs) concerns a land dispute at Awoshie, Accra, between a 2016 purchaser from the estate of Randy Tetteh and a long-time occupant from the Nii Okperku Nunoo family. The plaintiff, resident in the USA, alleged the defendant constructed a single room on his land and sought title, possession, trespass damages, and an injunction. The defendant maintained he was granted land by his family in 1995, had built a two-bedroom house, a single room occupied by his sister-in-law, and a drinking spot, and that a dwarf wall built by the plaintiff marked the boundary. A composite plan (exhibit CW1) produced by the Lands Commission surveyor showed the defendant’s structures on one side of the wall and bare land on the other. The plaintiff’s deed recorded 0.39 acre, but he showed 0.43 acre to the surveyor. Applying the Evidence Act burdens and precedent, the court dismissed the claims, vacated an interlocutory injunction, and awarded GH a220,000 general damages and GH a210,000 costs to the defendant.
INTRODUCTION
On the 26th of January 2018, the plaintiff caused a writ of summons and statement of claim to be issued out of this court’s registry against the defendant with the following reliefs endorsed on same: (a) Declaration of title to the parcel of land which piece or parcel of land is situate, lying and being at Awoshie in Accra and bounded on the north east by vendor’s land measuring 235. 1 feet more or less, on the south west by vendor’s land measuring 225. 3 feet more or less, on the northwest by a road measuring 76. 1 feet and on the south west by a proposed road measuring 73. 6 feet more or less and containing an approximate area of 0. 39 acres.
b) Recovery of possession of the land in dispute(c) Damages for trespass(d) Perpetual injunction against the defendant , his agents, assigns, labourers and personal representatives interfering with the plaintiff’s quiet and peaceful enjoyment of the land(e) Costs including solicitor’s fees.
The defendant denied liability for the claims of the plaintiff and at the directions stage on the 30th of January 2019, the following issues filed by the plaintiff were set down for determination: (1) Whether or not the plaintiff is entitled to all the reliefs endorsed on his writ of summons and statement of claim? (2) Whether or not the single room uncompleted structure built by the defendant constitutes a trespass unto the plaintiff’s land.
Whether or not the defendant has a valid defence to the plaintiff’s claim.
Any other issues that the honourable court may consider necessary to consider.
PLAINTIFF’S CASE The case of the plaintiff as can be gathered from his pleadings and the evidence of his lawful attorney is that he acquired a parcel of land in the year 2016 from two persons by name Raymond Nii Otoo Tetteh, and Richard Nii Akpe Tetteh who are the administrators and beneficiaries of the estate of their deceased father, one Randy Tetteh who was the original owner of the disputed land.
The plaintiff said that after he acquired the land, he hired a bulldozer and levelled the land to pave way for construction works to begin in the year 2018. The plaintiff, who lives in the United States of America, also said that he returned to Ghana sometime in the last quarter of 2017 and realized that the defendant was constructing a single room on a portion of his land.
According to the plaintiff he confronted the defendant over his conduct and asked him to produce his(defendant’s) title documents to the land or d