An Accra High Court has slapped a businessman, Dr. Daniel McKorley, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of McDan Group, with cost of GH¢6,000 in a trespassing on land at East Legon suit instituted by Magnus A.L. De Souza.
The court, presided over by Justice Rita Abena Abrokwa Doko, fined the businessman (2nd defendant) for filing applications late and attempting to delay proceedings.
The fine followed an oral application by Nii Akwei Bruce-Thompson, counsel for Mr. De Souza (plaintiff), for delaying the court.
This was after the lawyers for the defendants, Daniel McKorley, and Joseph Nii Mensah Ashong, failed to show up in court on July 4, 2023, being the date set for Mr. De Souza to give his evidence-in-chief, as well as be cross-examined.
Mr. De Souza was allowed to present his evidence-in-chief and which was adopted by the court.
Nevertheless, the Judge ordered that the proceedings should be served on the lawyer for the defendants, and adjourned the next hearing to July 20, 2023.
On July 20, 2023, counsel for the defendants, Theophilus Donkor, filed an application at 8am to cross-examine Mr. De Souza.
The judge then adjourned the case to July 31, 2023, to allow the defendants’ counsel to proceed with the cross-examination of the plaintiff.
Mr. Donkor, at the last adjourned date, told the court that his staff wrongly entered the time for the hearing on the July 4, 2023, and objected to being marked absent. The court also maintained that for the fact that they were served with the date and time of the hearing, and were not present, they were absent.
On this basis, Mr. Bruce-Thompson prayed the court for a cost of GH¢50,000.00, because Mr. De Souza comes from outside to attend the hearings.
He argued that since the case was filed in the year 2018, the defendants had never showed up in court, but continued to file numerous vexatious applications to derail and delay the hearing and conclusion of the matter. Furthermore, the lawyers for the defendant had been absent at several hearings.
Lawyer Claudia Obeng, holding Mr. Donkor’s brief, prayed the court to reduce the cost to GH¢5,000. That was after Mr. Donkor had promised the court that his clients would show up in subsequent hearings. The court subsequently awarded GH¢6,000 against the defendants.
Background
Mr. De Souza accused the defendants of deploying land guards on the land in question to enable them develop it.
“The defendants, without my consent, have trespassed onto the land, with Ashong wrongfully claiming ownership and selling same to Mckorley, who, with the use of land guards, has forcibly dug a foundation trench and is building on my land,” the witness said.
Mr. De Souza, in his evidence before the court, said Ashong had sold the land in contention to Mr. Mckorley.
However, the first defendant – Ashong – in his defence refuted the claim of the plaintiff, insisting that his late father acquired the disputed land in 1974 from the Nii Odoi Atsem Family of La, and went into immediate possession after the acquisition.
The plaintiff contended that he acquired the property from one Professor David Kpakpo Acquaye with title deed assigned to him, dated November 8, 1995.
He further added that he started developing the land somewhere in 2000, but later decided to pull the structure down to begin the current construction, because of financial support from his partner.
The 1st defendant challenged the claim that “Neither the plaintiff nor his grantor has possessed the land in dispute, or entered or done anything on the disputed land for these years that they claim to have acquired the land. If the plaintiff or his grantor did have any interest in the disputed land that cannot be the reality now, as for the past 10 years they have not developed or exercised any act of possession on the land.”
Cross-examination
During cross-examination, Mr. Donkor suggested to the plaintiff that he did not have evidence that Mr. Ashong had sold the land to Mr. Mckorley. In his response, Mr. De Souza said: “To a certain extent I do, because Nii Ashong gave a police statement when he was arrested, after I reported the encroachment on my land to the police, stating that he gave the land to Mr. Daniel McKorley.
“The police report clearly says that Ashong said in his statement that he gave the land to Mr. Daniel Mckorley. The police report has been the basis of my suing Ashong and Mckorley. Furthermore, when on occasion I have visited the land, and that is even after the injunction was issued, I have met McDan’s staff on the land as recently as 20th July, 2023,” he said.
Mr. Souza also stated that the initial defence was a Deed of Assignment, purported to have been issued, by the Lands Commission. He said that his lawyer wrote to the Lands Commission for verification of the Deeds that had been submitted in court by the lawyer for the defendant. The Lands Commission replied that the said Deeds did not emanate from the Lands Commission.
Mr. Souza further stated that a simple search at the Lands Commission would have confirmed that he was the legitimate and registered owner of the land. He stated that his lawyer commissioned his own search before accepting his case, as all good lawyers would.
The Judge asked the Mr. De Souza’s lawyer if he wished to re-examine him, but he declined.
Justice Rita Abena Abrokwa Doko adjourned the case to 3rd November 2023.
