STATE INSURANCE CORPORATION v. AKAFO

JUDGMENT OF ANTERKYI J.

The defendant-judgment debtors-applicants—the State Insurance Corporation which I will refer to in this ruling as the applicants—in these proceedings apply by motion and affidavit for an order to set aside the execution pursued against them by the plaintiff-judgment creditor-respondent (whom in these proceedings I will refer to as the respondent).

[p.467]

The history behind this application is as follows: On 21 March 1973 the High Court sitting at Koforidua had given judgment for the respondent against one Charity Ago Tamakloe in a running down case, the accident having occurred at a time when he was insured with the applicants. The judgment was for the sum of ¢13,000.00 damages and ¢120.00 costs.

After service of an entry of judgment on the said Charity Ago Tamakloe on 29 March 1973, and after complying with the provisions of section 10 of the Motor Vehicles (Third Party Insurance) Act, 1958 (No. 42 of 1958), the respondent by a specially endorsed writ and statement of claim filed on 22 January 1975 in this court instituted an action in this court for a declaratory order that the applicants do pay the total balance of ¢13,142.20 due and owing by the said Charity Ago Tamakloe to the respondent.

This specially endorsed writ was served on the applicant corporation on 21 February 1975. By 19 March 1975 they had entered no appearance when, upon an ex parte motion for judgment filed on that date, judgment was on 21 March 1975 given against the applicants. Entry of judgment filed on 14 April 1975 was served on the applicants on 18 April 1975.

Subsequently the respondent on 29 April 1975 filed a motion ex parte for the issue of a garnishee order nisi against the Ghana Commercial Bank at the Kaneshie Circle branch, Accra. This application was granted on 30 April 1975, and a garnishee summons was issued against the bank. On the return date—20 May 1975—a representative of the bank appeared in answer to the garnishee summons and disclosed that the bank had in hand funds of the applicants sufficient to satisfy the judgment debt and costs awarded against the applicants. This court therefore ordered that the bank as garnishee do pay the judgment debt and costs to the respondent.

On 26 May 1975 the applicants filed an ex parte motion for "an order to stop payment of the sum of ¢13,236.00 which the court decreed under a garnishee order." The court heard this application the same day and made a stop order but it happened that payment had ea