SAM JONAH v. RICHMOND AGGREY & ANOTHER
2013
SUPREME COURT
GHANA
CORAM
- J. DOTSE JSC (PRESIDING)
- ANIN-YEBOAH JSC
- P. BAFFOE-BONNIE JSC
- V. AKOTO-BAMFO (MRS) JSC
- A. A. BENIN JSC
Areas of Law
- Civil Procedure
- Contract Law
- Corporate Law
2013
SUPREME COURT
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
The Supreme Court of Ghana handled an appeal against the decision of the Court of Appeal, Accra, which affirmed the High Court's judgment dismissing the case for not disclosing any reasonable cause of action. The case revolved around financial and legal agreements relating to shares in Scancom Ghana Limited. The High Court and the Court of Appeal determined that the appellant had no capacity to sue and that there was no lawyer-client relationship with the respondents. The Supreme Court agreed and also upheld a cross-appeal, ruling the case should have been filed by application per the Legal Profession Act rather than by writ.
ANIN YEBOAH JSC:
This appeal is before us from a judgment of the Court of Appeal, Accra which affirmed the judgment of the High Court, (Commercial Division), Accra. The facts of this appeal appear not to be in any controversy whatsoever as from the record of proceedings before us the case at the trial High Court did not progress beyond the close of pleadings. The case was summarily dismissed on the grounds that the statement of claim did not disclose any reasonable cause of action against the respondents herein.
Now the facts as presented by the Court of Appeal. The Plaintiff/Appellant/Appellant who for sake of brevity shall henceforth be referred to as the appellant issued a writ of summons against 2nd and 3rd Defendant/Respondent/Respondent herein who shall in these proceedings be referred to as the respondent.
On the 9/07/2009, the appellant herein by a motion ex parte sought leave to issue writ of summons and serve notice thereof out of the jurisdiction.
The motion was granted by the High Court, Accra (Commercial Division) as the trial High Court was satisfied that the first defendant was residing in the United States of America. The two defendants who were at the material time resident in Ghana were Yoni Kulendi a practicing Lawyer of repute and Kulendi @ Law, a law firm as the second and third defendant respectively. In the statement of claim that accompanied the writ of summons, the respondent herein pleaded among other things that in May 1997 he entered into a Share Sale and Purchase Agreement in Accra which was dated May 1997 with the first Defendant one Richmond Aggrey.
In the said agreement the recitals stated that the said Richmond Aggreey owned twenty percent ordinary shares in a company known as Scancom Ghana Limited which was a registered mobile phone company operating in Ghana. The majority shareholders of Scancom Ghana Limited was Investcom Holdings SA, (Investcom) a company registered in the Lebanon which held sixty- seven percent shares. In the said Share Sale Agreement, the first defendant at the trial court that had agreed to place his shares in Scancom in the legal custody of an offshore company in Cayman Island, Grand View Management Limited (the custodian) for the purpose that the first defendant and Investcom were advanced in establishing a telecommunications joint venture Spacetel Srpska, in respect of which the first defendant needed about Three million United States Dollars (US$3,000,000.00) and a further sum of Seven Hundr