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CaseLaw

Owners Home savings & Loans V. Tojumo Ltd (1998) CLR 5(g) (CA)

Brief

  • Banking
  • Issues for determination
  • Practice and procedure
  • Appeal

Facts

The respondent sued the appellant company in the High Court of Justice Offa, Kwara State under the undefended list claiming as follows: -

  • 1
    An Order of the court compelling the defendant to pay forthwith the principal sum of N500, 000.00 (Five Hundred Thousand Naira Only) being the amount due to the plaintiff from the defendant on the fixed deposit with the defendant and which sum the defendant had refused, failed, and/or neglected to pay since the 12th day of April, 1994 in spite of repeated demands by the plaintiff on maturity of the fixed deposit.
  • 2
    Interest on the said sum of N500, 000.00 at the rate of 50% per annum effective from the 12th day of April, 1994 until judgment and thereafter at 10% per annum until entire debt is finally liquidated.”

In support of the claim, the respondent filed an affidavit to which it attached Exh. A which was the document showing the deposit of the sum of N500, 000.00 with the appellant for a period of 90 days.

The appellant filed a notice of intention to defend on the 15th of November 1994 denying the respondent’s claim. The notice was accompanied by an affidavit that there was no transaction between the appellant and the respondent at all. It was averred to in that affidavit that in the normal business of the appellant, money deposited with it was usually authenticated by a certificate of deposit different from an ordinary headed letter like Exh. A. A genuine certificate of deposit was attached to the affidavit as Exh. A. O.

The trial Judge heard arguments of whether or not the matter should be transferred to the ordinary cause list and came to the conclusion that the appellant had not disclosed any defence on the merit for the suit to be transferred to the ordinary cause list. He then gave judgment for the respondent as follows: -

  • “In the premises, I hold that the plaintiff is entitled to the judgment of the court in this suit. Accordingly, judgment is hereby entered in favour of the plaintiff against the defendant in the sum of N500, 000.00 plus interest at the rate of 50% per annum from the 11th day of January, 1994 until the 12th day of October, 1994 when the writ of Summons herein was taken out.The plaintiff shall also have interest at the rate of 10% per annum from the 13th day of October, 1994 until the entire judgment debt is fully satisfied.”

    • Dissatisfied with this judgment the appellant appealed to this court.

Issues

  • i
    Whether in the overall interest of justice, the option opened to the trial...

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