CaseLaw
Savannah Bank Plc V. Oladipo Opanubi (1999) CLR 12(a) (CA)
Brief
Facts
The plaintiff is a legal practitioner and the defendant a banker. The defendant was owned the sum of 50 million Naira (excluding interest) by a merchant baker, Icon Ltd. The defendant, by letter dated 17-4-94 instructed the plaintiff to help it recover the debt. The plaintiff took the assignment on hand, and after some initial false steps ultimately obtained from the Federal High Court, Lagos a judgment for the sum of N250,000.00 representing 10% of the part payment made by Icon Ltd. This was plaintiff’s professional fees prorata.
Problem however arose when sometime later, Icon Ltd paid a further sum of 47.5 Million Naira. The evidence would appear to suggest that CBN as the supervising authority in the banking industry debited the account of Icon Ltd with the CBN and correspondingly credited the account of the account of the defendant with the said 47.5 Million Naira. This was after the plaintiff put up a claim for 47.5Million Naira to the defendant as his 10% professional fee on the 47.5 Million Naira by the Icon Ltd. The defendant refused to honour the claim contending that the payment of N47.5 Million Naira by Icon was as a result of the intervention of the CBN and not the result of any action by the plaintiff. It needs be said here that the letter of instructions to the plaintiff from the defendant had been specific that the plaintiff would only be paid a percentage of the amount recovered by him. The crucial questions is – who recovered the N47.5 Million Naira?
Aggrieved, the respondent instituted an action against the appellant at the High Court claiming the sum of N4.75 million and interest thereon at the rate of 21% per annum from the 23rd day of August, 1995 until the final liquidation of the judgment debt.
The trial court found for the respondent and awarded him the sum of N4.75 million claimed. The court reasoned that the CBN could not have debited the account of ICON Ltd with the exact balance from the N50 million principal debt if it was not aware of the case between the parties at the Federal High Court.
Dissatisfied with the decision of the trial court the appellant appealed to the Court of Appeal.