PRIME INSURANCE COMPANY LTD VS INIFINITY TYRES GHANA LTD

INTRODCUTION

[1] The Plaintiff is an Insurance Company incorporated under the laws of Ghana. Jay Kay Industries, which deals in paper products, is an insurer of the Plaintiff took an All Risk Insurance Policy with the Plaintiff for its stock in trade. The Defendant deals in car tyres and batteries. The Plaintiff's claim arises from the fire outbreak that occurred on 7th January, 2022. The fire started from the Defendant’s premises and spread to Jay Kay’s premises, destroying its stock in trade. Jay Kay Industries, as the insured of the Plaintiff, successfully made a claim on the Plaintiff in respect of the destroyed stock. The Plaintiff has mounted this claim against the Defendant, seeking to enforce its rights of subrogation against the Defendant. The Defendant denies the claim of the Plaintiff. The fundamental question that this court is called upon to answer is whether the Defendant is responsible for the outbreak of the fire and its spread to Plaintiff’s insured premises destroying its stock and, as a consequence, liable to the Plaintiff's Subrogated claim.

PLAINTIFFS’ PLEADINGS

[2] The Plaintiff avers that it is an Insurance Company and Jay Kay Industries and Investment Limited, which is its Client, is engaged in the supply of paper products. That Jay Kay took an asset all risk insurance policy with the Plaintiff for its stock in trade on 9th July 2021 to expire on 8th July 2022. It is the case of the Plaintiff that on Friday, 7th January, 2022, at about 7 O’clock in the forenoon, a warehouse belonging to the Defendant was engulfed in fire.

[3] Plaintiff avers that the fire, which emanated from Defendants’ warehouse, spread to the adjoining properties, including the warehouse of Jay Kay destroying its stock in trade. According to the Plaintiff, personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service were called to extinguish the fire. A comprehensive investigation report dated 29th April, 2022 was submitted by Director of Operations of Ghana National Fire Service which established that the cause of the fire outbreak was as a result of electrical fault from the Defendant’s server room.

[4] It is the case of the Plaintiff that the report also contains an estimated cost of damage caused by the fire to Jay Kay’s stock destroyed, amounting to Six Million, three Hundred and sixty-seven thousand and five Ghana Cedis (GHC6,367,005). According to Plaintiff Jay Kay put in a claim for the recovery of Six Million, Three Hundred and Sixty-Seven