CaseLaw
Onykwelu V. Elf petroleum (2009) CLR 2(b) (SC)
Judgement delivered on February 6th 2009
Brief
Facts
The contract between the parties in this appeal is contained in Local Purchase Order usually referred to as L.P.O dated 27th May, 1993, by which the Appellant agreed to supply the Respondent some items of goods listed therein valued at N218,800.00 on or before 15th June, 1993. Payment for the goods supplied was to be made by the Respondent 30 days after the receipt of the invoice confirming the delivery. Some of the conditions agreed between the parties in the L.P.O. include that the order was subject to cancellation if delivery was not made within the time specified; that the Respondent as the purchaser of the items ordered, reserved the right to reject the items supplied at the expense of the Appellant if such items did not conform to the specification under the contract among others. The goods supplied by the Appellant and received by the Respondent's receiving Clerk, were later rejected by the Respondent after inspection mainly on the ground that goods supplied were not new and therefore refused to pay for the goods. The Appellant who regarded the action of the Respondent in rejecting the goods supplied under the L.P.O. as a breach of contract, headed for the trial High Court seeking redress in damages because he had to take a loan of N165,000.00 from a finance Company in order to execute the contract.
The action of the Appellant was duly heard on pleadings duly exchanged between the parties. At the hearing, the Appellant as the Plaintiff was the only witness who testified in support of his claims. In the course of his evidence, a number of documents were tendered and received in evidence. These relevant documents comprising the L.P.O and the Way Bills in particular, were marked as Exhibits A - K respectively by the trial Court. The Respondent in its defence to the action against it by the Appellant, called two witnesses. One witness was the Clerk of the Respondent who received the goods supplied by the Appellant while the second was the Branch Manager of the Finance Company that gave the Appellant the loan with which the supply contract was executed. Exhibits 'L' and 'M' were tendered and received in evidence as part of the case of the Defendant/ Respondent. After considering the evidence before him adduced by the parties, the learned trial Judge found for the Appellant as Plaintiff and awarded him the sum of N700,000.00 as special and general damages together with interest of N33,000.00 per month from 15th February, 1996, until the judgment debt is finally paid. The Respondent as the Defendant was not happy with the judgment of the trial Court and therefore appealed against it to the Court of Appeal which after hearing the appeal, allowed it, set aside the judgment of the trial Court and replaced it with a judgment dismissing the action of the Appellant who was the Respondent in that Court. In challenging that decision of the Court of Appeal, the Appellant who was aggrieved by it, has now appealed against it to this Court.