Pauline Afari (Mrs) v. Sammy Awuku
2016
HIGH COURT
GHANA
CORAM
- HER LADYSHIP JUSTICE REBECCA SITTIE MRS
Areas of Law
- Property and Real Estate Law
- Contract Law
- Equity and Trusts
- Evidence Law
- Tort Law
- Probate and Succession
2016
HIGH COURT
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
Pauline Afari sued an estate developer friend in the High Court to unwind an oral land swap and recover losses after discovering that the replacement plots at Mai Dzorn were already registered to Benjamin Papafio and the original Dome Paradise Estates plots were sold to other clients. Afari and her late husband Seth entrusted their Dome documents to the defendant to fix title issues and accepted four Mai Dzorn plots, engaging surveyor Eric Sowah to prepare new documentation. The court found Afari jointly owned three Dome plots, not four, rejected unexecuted and unstamped documents, and relied on admissions and witnesses to establish ownership. Applying equity and recognising exceptions to capacity rules under PNDC L 111 and In re Ashalley Botwe, the court set aside the swap for lack of title and deceit, ordered valuation and payment of the current value of the three Dome plots, dismissed the US$8,000 documentation claim, and awarded GH20,000 general damages plus GH10,000 costs.
The Plaintiff issued a writ of summons against the Defendant for the followingreliefs: 1. An order for the recovery of the sum of US$40, 000 or its equivalent in Ghana cedis being the value of 4 plots of land situate at Paradise EstatesDome Pillar 2, Accra, which the Defendant herein took over with apromise to replace same with at a site at Mai Dzorn, Accra but which siteor plots of land have been registered in another person’s name.
2. An order for the recovery of the sum of US$8, 000 which the Plaintiff paid to the Defendant herein for the documentation and registration of thesaid 4 plots of land situate at Mai Dzorn which the Defendant gave to thePlaintiff in exchange or replacement of the Plaintiff’s 4 plots of landsituate at Dome Pillar 2, Accra.
3. General Damages for deceit and breach of promise.
4. Costs Plaintiff who is ordinarily resident in the USA avers that sometime in 1999her late husband who was a friend of the Defendant entered into anagreement with Defendant to exchange Plaintiff and her husband’s 4plots of land at Dome Paradise Estates for Defendant’s 4 plots of land atMai Dzorn which Plaintiff and her husband started to dig a trench toconstruct a wall.
Plaintiff says later Defendant collected the original documents covering the Dome lands because they were not properdocuments.
Plaintiff averred that Defendant had told them that assomeone with experience in land matters he could resolve the problemthey had on the Dome land.
Plaintiff also averred that her husband gaveDefendant US$3, 000 to construct a wall.
Defendant introduced Plaintiffto one Eric Sowah, a surveyor, who was given US$8, 000 on Defendant’sinstruction to prepare documents on the Mai Dzorn lands.
Plaintiff saidshe found out after her husband’s demise that the land given in exchangewas in some other person’s name while the Dome Paradise Estate landshad been sold by Defendant to others who had developed them.
She istherefore claiming a refund of US$40, 000 being the value of the 4 Plots atDome, US$8, 000 being expenses made on the Mai Dzorn land given inexchange.
Defendant virtually denied all Plaintiff averments and put herto strict proof.
Defendant said Plaintiff’s claim is frivolous and must bedismissed.
At the close of pleadings the following issues were set down for trial: 1. Whether or not Plaintiff herein and her husband purchased 4 plots of land at Paradise Estate, Dome Accra at all.
2. Whether or not Plaintiff’s husband gave the original documents of