2021
COURT OF APPEAL
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
The Court of Appeal, per Asiedu JA, heard Unicom Commodities Company Limited’s appeal from a High Court judgment in favour of Nyonkopa Cocoa Buying Company Limited arising from the detention of Nyonkopa’s truck loaded with 600 bags of cocoa beans after Unicom reported suspicious loading from its Asumura warehouse. The High Court had erroneously characterized the case as defamation and awarded GHȼ1,200,000 in general damages, despite the writ’s focus on arrest and detention and the absence of pleaded or proven publication attributable to Unicom. Applying principles limiting judicial notice and the elements of defamation, and clarifying false imprisonment liability for police arrests, the Court set aside the defamation finding and damages. It affirmed Unicom’s counterclaim for the monetary value of 150 bags under an undertaking, with interest from 4 May 2017, but rejected rent and franchise claims due to evidentiary and contractual deficiencies. Costs of GHȼ40,000 were awarded to Unicom.
ASIEDU, JA.
My lords, this is an appeal by Unicom Commodities Company Limited, the Defendant in this matter before the High Court, Kumasi against the judgment delivered by the said court on the 10th day of April 2019 in favour of the Plaintiff. In the events leading to the delivery of the judgment, the Plaintiff herein, Nyonkopa Cocoa Buying Company Limited issued a writ of summons before the High Court, Kumasi against the Defendant on the 17th February 2017 claiming against the Defendant:
1. An order for payment of GHȼ2,000,000.00 being special, general, exemplary and punitive damages against the Defendant Company for the Plaintiff Company for the malicious and deliberate act of misleading the police to cause the arrest, impounding and detention of a truck fully loaded with quantities of bags of cocoa beans graded, bagged, sealed and uniquely coded and specially way billed with Quality Control Certificate (QCC) in the Plaintiff Company’s name which Defendant Company’s said malicious and deliberate act was conspicuously contrary to the best practices, customs and usages in the cocoa beans’ purchases industry and COCOBOD’S practice directive regulations and which said arrest, impounding and detention of the said truck and its said consequence caused an embarrassment, defamation, disrespect, scorn and denigration to the Plaintiff Company whilst costing the Plaintiff Company some cash sums.
2. An order of perpetual injunction against the Defendant Company, its assigns, agents, servants, workmen and all those who work for it from further making such malicious and deliberate act of misleading the police to cause the arrest and an impounding of the Plaintiff (sic) bags of cocoa beans graded, bagged, sealed and uniquely coded and specially way billed with Quality Control Certificate (QCC) in the Plaintiff Company’s name or in whatever interfering with the operations of the Plaintiff Company.
Costs on indemnity basis.
In its statement of defence, the Defendant included a counterclaim against the Plaintiff and one Abdul-Rahmani Mahama. Against the Plaintiff, the Defendant counterclaimed for:
i. An order directed at the Plaintiff to forthwith supply 150 bags of cocoa beans or pay their total monetary value of GHȼ71,250.00 at the prevailing market unit price of GHȼ475.00 as at January, 2017 to the Defendant in fulfillment of its obligation under the undertaking dated 3rd January, 2017.
ii. Payment of interest on the said sum of GHȼ71,250.00 at the prevailing