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December 14, 2023
COURT OF APPEAL
GHANA
AFIA SERWAH ASARE-BOTWE (MRS.) JA
This is an appeal from the Judgment of the High Court, Accra, delivered on the 29 th of April 2022.
In this Judgment, the parties may, where the context so admits, be referred to as the 'Plaintiffs/Appellants' or simply 'Plaintiffs' and the 'Defendants/Respondents' or simply 'Defendants' with the necessary qualifications or modifications.
The Notice of Appeal was filed on the 22 nd of June, 2022 on the following grounds;
GROUNDS OF APPEAL
1. That the Judgment is against the weight of evidence before the Court
2. That the trial judge did not fully appreciate the link of the issues set down for trial by the Plaintiffs/Appellants. 1
THE BACKGROUND OF THE CASE/THE PLAINTIFF'S CLAIM:
Before proceeding to deal with the necessary procedural and substantive issues in this matter, it would be prudent to set out the background of the action before the Court.
This suit commenced with the issuance of a writ of summons and statement of claim on the 27 th of October, 2020. Eventually an amended writ and statement of claim filed on the 24 th of December, 2020 endorsed with the following reliefs became the subject of the case;
a. An order of the Court directed at the Defendants to assign all its unexpired interest in the portions of the land it has sold to the Plaintiffs.
b. An order of the court directed at the Defendants to review the ground rent to reflect the actual ground rent figures per the rates of the Office of the Administrator of Stool lands.
c. An order of the court directed at the Defendants to refund all the excess ground rent payment made by the plaintiffs to those who have made the said payments.
d. Legal Costs.
e. Any other order(s) or reliefs that the Court may deem fit.
The uncontroverted facts of the case are that the Plaintiffs at various times acquired homes within a gated community put up by the Defendants upon terms including varied costs.
By their Amended Statement of Claim and evidence of Fred Tettey Djabanor who testified on behalf of the Plaintiffs, exhibiting their respective documents, the Plaintiffs put forward their case to the effect that by offer letters and sale and purchase agreements they acquired their respective homes at the Integral Estate.
That in the said offer letters and sale and purchase agreements, the 1 st Defendant describes itself as the Developer, who is selling and the plaintiffs as Purchasers who have purchased their respective homes.
The Plaintiffs/ Appellants furthe
AI Generated Summary
In this Court of Appeal judgment authored by Afia Serwah Asare‑Botwe (JA), homeowners at the Integral Estate challenged the High Court’s decision after purchasing properties from the developer, Integral Homes (the 1st Defendant). Plaintiffs argued they were purchasers entitled to an assignment of the unexpired head‑lease term and that subleases issued later improperly portrayed them as tenants and demanded annual ground rent of GH¢1,000 despite Office of the Administrator of Stool Lands rates of GH¢37–48 for individual lots. Defendants contended the parties executed written sale contracts and subleases after due review by educated, literate buyers and denied fraud. Applying settled principles that written contracts bind absent fraud or misrepresentation and the higher evidential standard for fraud, the Court found no proof warranting setting aside the agreements. It further held courts cannot make new contracts for parties, set aside the lower court’s abrogation/ rent‑assessment order as per incuriam, dismissed the appeal, and awarded GH¢5,000 costs to all defendants.