SAMUEL NARTEY KODJOE v. VANGUARD ASSURANCE CO. LTD.

MARIAMA OWUSU, J.A:

The main issue for determination in this appeal is whether the Plaintiff/Appellant at the time of the accident that has culminated in this appeal had a valid driving license.

The trial judge answered this question in the negative.

Dissatisfied with the decision of the trial court, the plaintiff appealed to the Court of Appeal on the following grounds;

a. The judgment is against the weight of evidence.

b. The court erred when it held that at the time of the accident the plaintiff did not have a valid driving license.

c. Further grounds of appeal may be filed upon receipt of the record of proceedings.

The relief sought from the Court of Appeal is that;

The judgment be set aside and judgment given to the plaintiff.

Before dealing with the merits or otherwise of this appeal, I will give a brief background of this case.

The plaintiff/appellant [herein after referred to as plaintiff] issued a writ of summons claiming the following reliefs;

1. A declaration that on the date of the accident on 27-8-2012 involving plaintiff’s vehicle No. GR 8353-10 plaintiff’s driving license was valid.

2. GH¢50,000.00 general damages for breach of contract.

3. An order directed at the defendant to pay for the repair cost of plaintiff’s vehicle estimated at £1,843.45.

4. Loss of use of the said vehicle at the rate of GH¢50.00 a day from 27-8-2012.

In the statement of claim that accompanied the writ of summons, the plaintiff averred that he is a legal practitioner based in Accra, whilst the defendant/appellant [hereinafter referred to as defendant] is a reputable Insurance Company established under the Laws of Ghana and doing business as such. The plaintiff averred further that, he purchased and insured his vehicle, Land Rover Freelancer with registration No. GR 8353-10 with a comprehensive Insurance cover and was issued with Insurance Policy No. P-001-1051-2010-010-142 dated 19-3-2010 by the defendant. He continued that on 27-8-2012, his vehicle was involved in an accident and got damaged.

The plaintiff continued that, he informed the defendant about the accident and was given a claim form to fill. He was also requested to submit his driving license which he did together with the photographs of the damage parts and the estimated cost of the repairs to the defendant. It is the case of the plaintiff that, on 28-9-2012, the defendant wrote to him repudiating liability on the ground that, his driving license was invalid at the time of the acc