Nana Abena Agyeman Okrah v. Crown Apartmento Hotel Ltd.
2021
COURT OF APPEAL
GHANA
CORAM
- WELBOURNE (MRS), J.A. (PRESIDING)
- ARYENE (MRS), J.A.
- BAAH, J.A.
Areas of Law
- Civil Procedure
- Tort Law
- Evidence Law
- Property and Real Estate Law
2021
COURT OF APPEAL
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
On appeal from the High Court in Accra, the Court of Appeal considered a dispute between a hotel-operating limited liability company and a businesswoman whose Toyota Yaris (GW 2619-12) was clamped and detained at the hotel’s premises after her acquaintance, Dane Calis, allegedly defaulted on hotel bills. The Respondent asserted the car was hers, repeatedly demanded its release, and sued for declarations and damages when the hotel required proof of ownership. The Appellant maintained Calis gave the car keys and passport as security and claimed a right to retain the vehicle. The High Court declared the Respondent the bona fide owner, found the detention unlawful, ordered return, awarded GH¢200 per day from November 2016 to August 2017, general damages of GH¢15,000, interest, and costs. On appeal, Welbourne, J.A. held the Appellant had no lawful lien and affirmed liability and general damages, but set aside the daily special damages for lack of pleading and proof, and reduced costs to GH¢10,000; Aryene and Baah, JJ.A., concurred.
WELBOURNE, J.A
This is an appeal from the judgment of the High Court, Accra dated the 31st day of July 2017.
BRIEF FACTS:
The Respondent is a businesswoman and the Appellant is a limited liability company registered and incorporated under the laws of Ghana which runs a hotel business located at the Airport Residential Area in Accra. The Respondent avers that sometime in 2011 she met a man named Dane Calis whom she befriended. The Respondent claims that after befriending the said Dane Calis he asked her to assist him in securing an alternate accommodation as he was not satisfied with his accommodation at the time. As a result of this request the Respondent led the said Mr. Calis to the premises of the Appellant and upon inspection Mr. Calis was satisfied and as such decided to take up one of the apartments the Appellant had.
Mr. Calis was initially regular with the payment of his bills but started to default in the payment of his bills after he had been defrauded by some Nigerians. The Respondent claims that sometime in 2012 she purchased a Toyota Yaris saloon car with registration number GW 2619-12 from her own resources. The Respondent asserts that in August 2012 she went to visit Mr. Calis at the apartment in the premises of the Appellant Company but upon returning to her car she found the car clamped and upon enquiry from management she was informed that it was because Mr. Calis had not settled his bills.
Respondent asserts that upon hearing this she promptly informed management that the car belonged to her and not Mr. Calis but the Appellant Company did not pay heed. The Respondent made several demands for her car which demand was not met. The Respondent then caused her lawyers to write to the Appellant demanding the release of the vehicle but the Appellants refused to do so unless the Plaintiff produced documentation evidencing her ownership. The Respondent therefore issued a writ against the Appellant seeking the following reliefs:
a. A declaration that the vehicle Toyota Yaris with registration number GW 2619 – 12 is the bona fide property of the Plaintiff.
b. A declaration that the seizure and detention of the Plaintiff’s vehicle was unlawful.
c. An order directed at the Defendants to release possession of the vehicle to the Plaintiff.
d. An order directed at the Defendant to pay to the Plaintiff an amount of $100.00 daily for each day that the vehicle has unlawfully been in the Defendant’s custody and or possession which reflects the prev