OSEI ACHEAMPONG v. GLOBAL ACESS LTD
May 13, 2019
HIGH COURT
GHANA
CORAM
- HIS LORDSHIP JUSTICE DR. RICHMOND OSEI-HWERE
Areas of Law
- Contract Law
- Banking and Finance Law
- Civil Procedure
May 13, 2019
HIGH COURT
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
This High Court judgment, delivered by Justice Dr. Richmond Osei-Hwere, concerns a lotto business operator whose savings and fixed deposit were held by a defendant financial institution that refused to honour his cheques despite sufficient funds. The plaintiff sought to cash GHC 99,320.39 from his savings and GHC 100,001.00 from his fixed deposit, plus interest, and claimed damages and costs after the institution’s non-payment disrupted weekly payouts and harmed his operations. Following the defendant’s failure to file a defence, the court entered default judgment for the monetary claims and awarded costs, adjourning for damages assessment. Applying Supreme Court authority on general damages, the court held that special losses require strict proof, which the plaintiff did not provide. Nonetheless, finding an infringement of the plaintiff’s rights, the court awarded GHC 15,000.00 in general damages as of right.
JUDGMENT
On 17th December, 2018, the plaintiff herein issued a writ of summons against the defendant herein seeking the following reliefs:
a. Cash the sum of Ninety-Nine Thousand Three Hundred and Twenty Ghana Cedis Thirty-Nine Pesewas (99,320.39) being money held in the Plaintiff’s savings account with the defendant financial institution.
b. Interest on the sum of Ninety-Nine Thousand Three Hundred and Twenty Ghana Cedis Thirty-Nine Pesewas (99,320.39) at the prevailing bank rate from October, 2018 to the date of final payment.
c. Cash the sum of One Hundred Thousand and One Ghana Cedis(GHC100,001.00) being the fixed deposit investment held by the defendant institution on behalf of the plaintiff and the interest attendant thereto.
d. General, special, exemplary and punitive damages against the defendant institution for its failure to honour numerous cheques the plaintiff drew on his account to enable him make payments to his clients on a weekly basis because his legitimate expectation that the said cheques would be honoured to enable him pay winnings of his clients was thwarted though the plaintiff had sufficient funds in his account.
e. Costs incurred by the plaintiff in his self-sponsored trip to Accra to have a meeting with the executives of the defendant institution at its headquarters in Osu which took three days but yielded no positive result.
f. Costs.
g. SUCH FURTHER ORDER(S) as the Honorable Court may deem fit.
On 19th February, 2019 the plaintiff filed a motion on notice forjudgment in default of defence after the defendant had failed or refused to file a defence. The defendant was duly served with the motion but it failed file an affidavit in response. On 26thFebruary, 2019 judgment was entered in favour of the plaintiff against the defendant in respect of reliefs (a), (b) and (c) of the writ of summons. Costs of GHC 15,000.00 was awarded against the defendant. The matter was adjourned for hearing relating to the assessment of damages.
The law is that general damages lie for every infringement of an absolute right. The Supreme Court held in the case of Delmas Agency Ghana Ltd vrs Food Distributors International Ltd [2007/2008] SCGLR 748, 760 thus:
‘‘General damages is such as the law will presume to be the probable or natural consequences of the defendant’s act. It arises by inference of law and therefore need not be proved by evidence. The law implies general damages in every infringement of an absolute right. The catch is that on