CORAM
N TOBI, JUSTICE SUPREME COURT
M MOHAMMED, JUSTICE SUPREME COURT
W S N ONNOGHEN, JUSTICE SUPREME COURT
F F TABAI, JUSTICE SUPREME COURT
C M CHUKWUMA-ENEH, JUSTICE SUPREME COURT
PARTIES
SERGIUS ONYEKWELU
(Trading under the name and style of Compet Nig. Enterprises)
APPELLANTS
ELF PETROLEUM NIGERIA LIMITED
RESPONDENTS
AREA(S) OF LAW
CONTRACT – EVALUATION OF EVIDENCE
SUMMARY OF FACTS
The appellant as plaintiff sued the respondent for breach of contract when the latter rejected goods supplied to it by the appellant on the grounds that the goods were not new and refused to pay the agreed sum. The trial court found for the appellant but the respondent appealed to the Court of Appeal which allowed the appeal and set aside the judgment of the trial court. Dissatisfied, the appellant has now appealed
HELD
Appeal dismissed
ISSUES
1. Whether the Court of Appeal was right when it set aside the judgment of the trial Court on the ground that the Plaintiff failed to challenge or contradict the evidence of DW2 to the effect that he (DW2) and the Plaintiff/Appellant had once discussed the fact that the Defendant had rejected the goods when such evidence or facts on such evidence were not pleaded by the Defendant?
2. Whether the learned Justices of the Court of Appeal were right when they held that it was not the duty of the Defendant/Respondent to call an expert witness to compare the signatures on EXHIBITS ‘L,’ ‘M’ and ‘H’
RATIONES DECIDENDI
WHERE THERE IS A CONTRACT BY WHICH ONE PARTY UNDERTAKES TO SUPPLY THE OTHER WITH GOODS AT A STIPULATED PRICE
The law is well settled that where there is a contract by which one party undertakes to supply the other with goods at a stipulated price, the seller is bound to deliver the goods, and the buyer, upon accepting the delivery of the goods, is bound to pay the purchase price of the goods. Per Mohammed, JSC
PARTIES ARE BOUND BY THE TERMS OF THEIR CONTRACT
Parties are bound by the terms of their contract. This means that if any dispute should arise with respect to the contract, the terms in any documents which constitute the contract, are invariably the guide to its interpretation. Per Mohammed, JSC
FAILURE OF COURT TO PROPERLY EXERCISE ITS POWER TO EVALUATE EVIDENCE
If a trial Court fails to exercise properly its powers as a trial Court to consider and evaluate the evidence adduced by both parties on certain relevant issues, as happened in the instant case on the issue of the rejection of the goods by the Respondent, it is the duty of the appellate Court, if it does not involve credibility of witnesses to consider and evaluate such evidence and to make proper findings. Per Mohammed, JSC
CASES CITED
1. Clement Horst Co. v. Biddel Bros. (1912) A. C. 18.
2. Ogunleye v. Oni (1990) 2 N.W.L.R. (Pt. 135) 745
3. Imah v. Okogbe (1993) 9 N.W.L.R. (Pt. 316) 159
STATUTES REFERRED TO
Sale of Goods Law of Rivers State of Nigeria in Edict No. 5 of 1988.