Cudjoe Amuakwa V. Kwa Gurah & Ors (1933)

LawGlobal Hub Judgment Report – West African Court of Appeal

Undefended List—Order 2 rule 11 of Schedule 2—No grounds of defence shown—Refusal to grant leave to defend—Review of such refusal.

Facts

Two suits for liquidated money demands were entered for hearing in the ” Undefended List ” under Order 2 rule 9 of the Second Schedule of the Rules of the Supreme Court, the cause of action being the same in each case. Each defendant applied for leave to defend under rule 11 of the same Order, but the Court below refused both applications and gave judgment against each defendant though for considerably less than the full amount claimed. Subsequently the Court” reviewed” its refusal to grant leave to defend in those cases on further affidavits being filed setting out new alleged grounds of defence, but declined to depart from its original ruling in either case.

Held

On appeal, that the ruling of the Court below refusing to grant leave to defend was based entirely upon findings of fact from which the Court of Appeal saw no reason to dissent. The appeal was therefore dismissed, but the judgments of the Court below were varied by reducing the amount in each case in consequence of the Court of Appeal discovering that the rents for which judgment had been

i

given were not payable in advance, as had been assumed by Counsel on both sides i

and the judge in the Court below.

In such circumstances the respondent was not to be deprived of his costs of the appeal.