VIVIANNE STREHILE & ANOR v. MADAM ELIZABETH POKUA & ORS

TORKORNOO, J. A:

The 1st Defendant (Respondent to this appeal) represented to the Plaintiff/Appellant that she was able to assist her to purchase land in Ghana for her children who were resident in Germany. The Respondent represented that she could obtain the said land from the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th Defendants in the suit at the high court. After giving Ghȼ100,000.0 to the Respondent to send to the other Defendants ostensibly for the land in South Legon, it turned out that the 2nd to 5th Defendants could not deliver the land. First the land shown to Appellant was actually on record as government land, and second, it was encumbered by a lease to a third party. The Appellant sued the Respondent for

a. Ghȼ100,000.00 being the amount paid to the 1st Defendant as the purchase price of the two (2) plots of land for onward transmission to the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th Defendants.

b. Ghȼ18,000.00 being the money spent to build and repair the fence wall.

c. Ghȼ1,200.00.00 spent on land guards to watch the land.

All the above amounts are to be paid with interest on same at the current Bank rate.

d. General damages.

e. Costs.

After close of pleadings, Appellant counsel filed an application in March 2016 for judgment on admissions against the Respondent.

According to the affidavit in support of the application, Ghȼ55,000.00 out of the Ghȼ100,000.00 had been paid by the Respondent to the Appellant by that date, albeit in insignificant amounts at each time of payment. Appellant averred that she had lost money through interests and court costs as a result of failure by the Respondent to pay the money claimed on time and also paying the money in bits and pieces.

On 22nd March 2016, at the hearing of the application for judgment, the Respondent through her counsel expressed the willingness to submit to judgment in the sum of Ghȼ45,000.00 with interest from 1st January 2016. It was his position that the Respondent contested the claims for special and general damages in reliefs (b), (c) and (d) so evidence would have to be led to prove same. Appellant counsel agreed that judgment be entered as submitted to. The court entered judgment for the Appellant’s claim (a) in the following words:

“Judgment

The Plaintiffs issued the writ of summons and statement of claim as amended against the 1st Defendant and others for a sum of Ghȼ100,000.00 and other reliefs’ b, c and d. The Plaintiff also seeks to recover interest for the sum due and owing at the current bank rate. The Pla