EZEKIEL OKOLI V MORECAB FINANCE (NIG) LTD
June 3, 2025OBA ADEGBOYEGA OSUNBADE & ORS V OBA JIMOH OLADUNNI OYEWUNMI & 2 ORS
June 3, 2025Legalpedia Citation: (2007) Legalpedia (SC) 81317
In the Supreme Court of Nigeria
Fri May 4, 2007
Suit Number: SC. 333/2001
CORAM
PARTIES
YADIS NIGERIA LIMITED. APELLANT(S) / CROSS RESPONDENT(S)
GREAT NIGERIA INSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED
RESPONDENTS / CROSS APPELLANTS
AREA(S) OF LAW
SUMMARY OF FACTS
The appellant insured its goods in a warehouse at a certain address and when it relocated to another address, they wrote informing the respondent but never received a reply or acknowledgment of the letter. Fire gutted the goods at the new address and the respondent refused to honour the claims made as a result of the fire outbreak.
HELD
The Supreme Court held that failure of the respondent to give its consent to the relocation of the insured goods to a new location before the fire outbreak vitiates the insurance policy
ISSUES
Whether the Court of Appeal Lagos by failing to pay attention to or make a consideration of the Appellant’s Reply Brief dated 27th April 2000 in the hearing and determination of the Appellant’s appeal before it had not denied the Appellant of its right to fair hearing thus occasioning a failure of justice.Whether the single issue formulated by the court below upon which it determined the appeal truly captured and embraced the six germane issues formulated by the appellant and whether in the light of that, the court could be said to have done substantial justice in this case.
RATIONES DECIDENDI
NATURE OF A CONTRACT OF INSURANCE
“A contract of insurance should be one of utmost good faith, uberrima fidei. To constitute a contract of insurance, therefore, there must be an unqualified acceptance by the other party. A prima facie contract of insurance only comes into existence the moment an insurance proposal in the normal form is accepted unequivocally without qualification by the insurers:” – Per Akintan, JSC
THE COURT MUST GIVE EFFECT TO THE TERMS OF A CONTRACT
“Where parties are ad idem on the terms of a contract, the function of the court is to give effect to the terms without more as it is the duty of the court to give effect to the intention of the parties.” PER, W. S. N. ONNOGHEN, JSC
CASES CITED
1. Ladipo v. Lajide(1973) 5S.C 207 at 2252. Ngillari v. N. I. C.O.N (1998) 8 NWLR (Pt. 560) 1
STATUTES REFERRED TO
NONE
