UBA PLC V MR. SUNDAY UDUSIP

CORAM

YARGATA NIMPAR, JUSTICE COURT OF APPEAL

YARGATA NIMPAR, JUSTICE COURT OF APPEAL

PARTIES

UNITED BANK OF AFRICA PLC APPELLANTS

MR. SUNDAY UDUSIP (Suing under the name and style of Afaha Ebughu Development Union RESPONDENTS

AREA(S) OF LAW

SUMMARY OF FACTS

The Appellant unilaterally debited the Respondent’s account being a Union’s account to the tune of N50, 000.00 which said sum was deposited by the Union via a Prudent Bank Cheque. The Appellant who earlier credited the Union’s account in the said sum unilaterally debited the said account on grounds that cheque that it lodged in its account was returned unpaid and it failed to return the cheque to the Trustees of the Union after several demands and visits made to the bank. The Union filed a suit against the Appellant which was later withdrawn and struck out on grounds that the court processes was signed on behalf of a law firm. The Executive Secretary and one of the Trustees of the Union subsequently filed another suit at the Lagos State High Court claiming special and general damages.  After pleadings were filed and exchanged, the Appellant filed a Notice of Preliminary Objection that the suit be struck out and/or dismissed on the grounds that the Claimant had no locus standi. The trial court dismissed the Notice of Preliminary Objection and entered judgment in favour of the Respondents. Dissatisfied with the decision of the trial court, the Appellant lodged the instant appeal.

HELD

Appeal allowed in part

ISSUES

1. Whether in the circumstances of this suit the learned trial Judge was right in awarding pre-Judgment interest.?

2. Whether the learned trial Judge failed to fix the rate of the post-Judgment interest that he awarded.?

3. Whether having regard to the pleadings the learned trial Judge was entitled to award general damages to the Claimant.?

4. Whether the suit is competent having regard to the entity that commenced the same.?

5. Whether the Judgment is against the weight of the evidence adduced at the lower Court ?

RATIONES DECIDENDI

APPEAL – MEANING OF AN APPEAL

“An appeal is an invitation to this Court to review the decision of the lower Court whether on the proper consideration of the facts, and applicable law, it arrived at a correct decision”. PER AUGIE JCA

LOCUS STANDI – WHAT DOES LOCUS STANDI CONNOTE?

“Locus standi connotes the legal right that a person has to file an action or be heard in a Court of law. A Party will have locus standi in a matter only if he has special legal right or can show that he has sufficient or special interest in the performance of a duty sought to be enforced,, or where his interest is adversely affected “PER AUGIE JCA

INTEREST – INTEREST AWARDABLE BY A COURT OF LAW IN A CIVIL CLAIM

“Generally, there are 2 types of interest which are awardable by a Court of Law in a civil claim. It could be pre Judgment or post Judgment interest. Pre Judgment interest is prescribed either from the date of loss or from the date when the complainant was filled up to the date of the final Judgment is entered “PER NIMPAR JCA

GENERAL AND SPECIAL DAMAGES – DISTINCTION BETWEEN GENERAL AND SPECIAL DAMAGES

“The law is that once a breach of contract is established, damages flow. General damages” are such, as the law will presume to be the direct, natural or probable consequence of the act complained of, while “special damages-are such as the law will not infer from the nature of the act. The difference is that in the former, the Court can make an award when it cannot point out any measure of assessment while in the latter case, all the losses claimed on every item must have crystalized in terms and value before trial “PER AUGIE JCA

LOCUS STANDI – DETERMINATION OF WHETHER OR NOT A PLAINTIFF HAS LOCUS STANDI IN A SUIT

“It is also undisputed law that the question of whether or not a Plaintiff has a locus standi in a suit is determinable from the totality of averments in his statement of claim” PER AUGIE JCA

UNINCORPORATED AND NON-JURISTIC ENTITIES – DEFINITION OF UNINCORPORATED AND NON-JURISTIC ENTITIES

“Unincorporated and non-juristic entities are associations of persons, who do not possess a personality different and distinct from its members “PER AUGIE JCA

INTEREST – PROPER PRACTICE WHERE INTEREST IS CLAIMED AS A MATTER OF RIGHT

“It is well settled that where interest is being claimed as a matter of right, the proper practice is to claim entitlement to same on the Writ and plead facts, which show such an entitlement in the Statement of Claim”. PER AUGIE JCA

STATEMENT OF CLAIM – A STATEMENT OF CLAIM MUST CONTAIN PRAYERS

“The law says a Statement of Claim must contain a prayer, and the prayer must set out the relief claimed “PER AUGIE JCA

RELIEFS – WHETHER A COURT CAN GRANT RELIEFS AUTOMATICALLY WHERE SAME WAS NOT CHALLENGED

“A Court is not an automaton or a robot that will automatically grant reliefs sought by one party merely because the other party did not challenge same or make an issue of it.” PER AUGIE JCA

GENERAL DAMAGES – NATURE OF GENERAL DAMAGES

“General damages are, therefore, losses that flow naturally from an adversary; it is generally presumed by law since “it need not be pleaded or proved”. PER AUGIE JCA

BREACH OF CONTRACT – GUIDING PRINCIPLE IN AN ACTION BASED ON BREACH OF CONTRACT

In other words, the guiding principle in an action based on breach of contract, as in this case, is restitutio in integrum [i.e. returning everything to the state as it was before]. The principle envisages that a party who has been damnified by the act complained of, must be put in the position in which he would have been if he had not suffered the wrong for which he is now being compensated”. PER AUGIE JCA

RELIEF – DUTY OF A COURT NOT TO GRANT A RELIEF WHICH HAS NOT BEEN CLAIMED

“Its settled law that a court cannot grant to a plaintiff a relief which has not been claimed and established by pleadings and the evidence respectively. The court has no power to do so.”PER OBASEKI-ADEJUMO JCA

REPRESENTATIVE ACTIONS – RULE ON REPRESENTATIVE ACTIONS

“The rule as to representative actions was derived from the Court of Chancery, which required the presence of all parties to an action so as to put an end to matters in controversy. “PER AUGIE JCA

PRE-JUDGMENT INTEREST – PRE-JUDGMENT INTEREST MUST BE SPECIFICALLY PLEADED IN A STATEMENT OF CLAIM

“Pre Judgment interest must be specifically pleaded in the statement of claim and therefore credible evidence must be led in support of the pleadings.” PER NIMPAR JCA

PRE – JUDGMENT INTEREST – CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH A CLAIM FOR PRE-JUDGMENT INTEREST MUST ARISE

“The claim for pre Judgment interest must arise from one of the following:
(a) Statute,
(b) Merchantile Custom and Practice,
(c) Equity,
(d) Agreement. “PER NIMPAR JCA

CASES CITED

STATUTES REFERRED TO

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