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February 6, 2023
HIGH COURT
GHANA
CORAM
This ruling is in respect of Application for Stay of Proceedings pending Appeal. It was filed by Counsel for and on behalf of Plaintiff/Applicant herein on the 28th October, 2022.
The mainstay of this Application is that Plaintiff/Applicant herein on the 14th of July, 2021 filed a Motion on Notice for leave to amend Pleadings and to recall Plaintiff’s Attorney to lead fresh evidence.
The said Application was dismissed by this Court per its ruling delivered on 14th April, 2022.
In the instant Application, Plaintiff/Applicant states in Paragraphs 6, 7 and 8 as follows:
Paragraph 6
That aggrieved by the Ruling herein on the 5th May, 2022 filed a Notice of Appeal (see attached: Notice of Appeal marked as Exhibit “B”.
Paragraph7
That the trial of the matter is still ongoing as the only witness for the Defendant is still under cross-examination.
Paragraph 8
That there are exceptional circumstances warranting the grant of this Application and if the matter proceeds to its logical conclusion and the Plaintiff wins on Appeal it will be impracticable for the Plaintiff’s Attorney to be recalled to testify and lead fresh evidence and also tender the relevant document, a Search which was later discovered and vial for the determination of the case.
This instant Application was opposed by Defendant/Respondent herein on the grounds that there are no exceptional circumstances.
In his legal submission, Counsel for Defendant/Respondent contends further that their only Witness has already been cross-examined many times by Counsel for Plaintiff/Applicant and is at the tail end of the said process. To grant this Application will draw back the whole trial. It is his contention that Plaintiff is using this Application to delay the trial.
He further submits that since amendment of Writ of Summons and Statement of Claim will mean that Defendant will have to respond to same and then additional time will be given for Case Management Conference in accordance with C.I 87 which was passed to avoid same situations like these.
The issue for this Court to determine is whether or not to grant the instant Motion for Stay of proceedings pending Appeal.
I will refer to Court of Appeal (Amendment Rules 2020) which provides as follows:
Rule 27 of C.I 19 amended.
The Court of Appeal Rules 1997 (C.I 19) referred to in this enactment as the “principal enactment” is amended in Rule 27 by: a. the Substitution of Subrule (1) of
An appeal shall not operate as a stay of execution
AI Generated Summary
This Ghana High Court ruling, delivered by Her Ladyship Justice Rita Agyeman‑Budu, addresses a motion by the Plaintiff/Applicant to stay ongoing trial proceedings pending an interlocutory appeal. The motion followed the court’s earlier refusal, on 14 April 2022, of the Plaintiff’s application to amend pleadings and recall the Plaintiff’s attorney to give fresh evidence, after which the Plaintiff filed a Notice of Appeal on 5 May 2022. The Defendant/Respondent opposed, arguing no exceptional circumstances existed and that its sole witness had already been extensively cross‑examined, so a stay would delay the trial. Referencing the Court of Appeal (Amendment Rules, 2020) (C.I 132), which amended C.I 19, the court noted Rule 27A and Rule 28 were revoked and concluded interlocutory appeals do not warrant stays of proceedings. Considering the stage of the trial and the governing rules, the court dismissed the stay application and awarded costs of GHS 2,000 to the Defendant/Respondent.