2018
COURT OF APPEAL
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
Barbara Ackah-Yensu JA, writing for a unanimous Court of Appeal panel, allowed the appeal of two landholders who acquired approximately 15 and 6 acres from the Odartey Sro family decades before the Adutso family won earlier litigation declaring them owners of over 500 acres at Abokobi. After respondents entered appellants parcels citing that victory, the High Court summarily dismissed appellants suit as an abuse of process on res judicata, reasoning they were privies of their grantors and should have joined the earlier suit. The Court of Appeal rejected that approach, holding the current reliefs and subject-matter differ and identifying special circumstances grounded in statutory rights (adverse possession under NRCD 54; indefeasibility under PNDCL 152) and equitable doctrines (bona fide purchaser; laches/acquiescence). It emphasized prior purchasers before the earlier proceedings are not estopped by subsequent judgments against vendors, and that estoppel and abuse-of-process were prematurely applied without evidence on identity of land and other issues. The Court set aside the dismissal, restored the suit for trial before a different judge, and awarded costs.
BARBARA ACKAH-YENSU (Ms) JA
In order to truly appreciate this appeal, one needs to recount the brief facts of the case leading to the appeal. Mrs. Vivian Aku Brown Danquah, 1st Defendant/Respondent herein, commenced an action (as plaintiff) at the High Court as Head of Adutso Family of Osu against Samuel Lanquaye Odartey, Head of Odartey Sro Family also of Osu (as defendant) for, inter alia, a declaration of title to a parcel of land said to be located at Abokobi in the Greater Accra Region covering over 500 acres. The said defendant denied that the plaintiff was entitled to her claims and counterclaimed, amongst others, for declaration of title and recovery of possession. At the end of the trial, the learned trial Judge dismissed the plaintiff’s claim and gave judgment for the defendant on his counter claim.
The plaintiff successfully challenged the judgment at the Court of Appeal resulting in it being set aside and judgment entered for the plaintiff. The Court of Appeal declared the plaintiff’s family, the Adutso family of Osu, as the beneficial and lawful owners of the disputed land. The defendant aggrieved by this decision then appealed to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court however unanimously affirmed the decision of the Court of Appeal in Civil Appeal No. J4/4/2016 which is reported in the Ghana Monthly Judgments (2016) 103 GMJ 167.
The 1st and 2nd Plaintiffs/Appellants (hereafter referred to as “Appellants”) acquired parcels of land from the Odartey Sro Family. The Plaintiffs allege that they had been in peaceful possession of their land until November 2004 when the Defendants/Respondents (also to be referred to simply as “Respondents” hereafter) together with other people, without lawful authority trespassed on to the said land and properties thereon claiming that they had won a case at the Court of Appeal against the Appellants’ grantors. The 1st Respondent is the head of the Adutso Family to which the 2nd Respondent is said to belong, with the 3rd and 4th Respondents being sued as agents of the said family.
Appellants instituted the present action against Respondents for reliefs that included a declaration that they have been on the disputed land, for nearly thirty (30) years and that even if the Respondents won their case against Appellants’ grantors, that would not invalidate their adverse possession for well beyond the Statutory Limitation period of twelve (12) years. The Appellants were also seeking a declaration that they were “bona fi