Daniel Holdings Ltd V. United Bank For Africa Plc. (2005)

LAWGLOBAL HUB Lead Judgment Report

OGUNTADE, J.S.C.

The appellant, as the plaintiff, at the High Court of Lagos State claimed against the respondent, as the defendant, for the following:

” … total sum of N93,846.50 (Ninety three thousand eight hundred and forty six naira, fifty kobo) being the monies had and received by the defendant for the plaintiff’s use … ”

The parties filed and exchanged pleadings, after which the suit was tried by Hunponu-Wusu, J. Each party called one witness. On 17/12/93, the trial Judge, in a reserved judgment,granted plaintiff’s claim for N93,846.50. The trial Judge would also appear to have awarded interest, for he concluded the judgment in these words:

“The plaintiff also claim interest on the said N93,846.50 at 21% per annum from 1st January, 1991 until today and at 7% per annum from today until the whole amount is liquidated. Cost is assessed at N2,000.00″

Was that an award of interest or not The language used is certainly ambivalent. However, given the issues raised before the Court of Appeal and this court, the parties appeared to have accepted that the trial court awarded interest in the passage reproduced above. The defendant was dissatisfied with the judgment. It brought an appeal before the Lagos division of the Court of Appeal (hereinafter referred to as ‘the court below’). The court below, in its judgment, partially allowed the appeal. It set aside the order awarding interest and reduced the principal sum from N93,846.50 to N68,541.50.

The plaintiff was dissatisfied with the judgment of the court below. It has brought this appeal against it. In the appellant’s brief filed, the issues for determination in the appeal were identified as these:

(1)Whether or not the court below was right to have reduced the amount awarded from N93,846.50k to N68,541.50k; and

(2) Whether the court below was correct in failing to award any interest in favour of the plaintiff/appellant.”

The defendant before the trial court, was also dissatisfied with the judgment of the court below. It brought a cross-appeal; and the solitary issue formulated from the grounds of cross-appeal reads:

(1) Whether the cross-appellant/respondent has not shown by credible evidence on record (particularly) in view of the alterations and/or falsifications evident on the counter-foils tendered as exhibits 1-7 vis-a-vis the original copies tendered as exhibits 26-29 that a different sum of money was actually received from plaintiff/appellant as against the sums purportedly acknowledged on the counter-foils.”

The issues raised from the appeal and the cross-appeal could be conveniently considered together. I intend to so deal with them. But I should first briefly discuss the facts leading to the dispute out of which this appeal arose.

The plaintiff was a trading company. On a regular basis, it caused to be lodged in its accounts with the defendant, a banker, the proceeds from its business. The plaintiff had its account at the defendant’s Lagos East Branch, 12 Broad Street, Lagos. The plaintiff filled into a bank teller, consisting of the bank copy and the customer’s copy (hereinafter referred to as the counter-foil), the amount it intended to pay in. This was recorded on both the bank copy (hereinafter referred to as the original) and the counter-foil. The money was taken to the bank by the employees of the plaintiff. The defendant’s counter-clerks or officials, in acknowledgement of the fact that the amount recorded on the original and counter-foil of the teller was paid in, affixed the bank’s stamp impression on both the original and counterfoil. The counter-clerk receiving the money then appended his signature or initials to both the original and counter-foil.

It was plaintiff’s case that between 1/2/87 and 1/7/89, the amount credited into its account, when contrasted with the payments shown on the counter-foils of the tellers which were used to make the payments, showed a shortfall of N93,846.50. In simple language, it was the contention of the plaintiff that the defendant credited his account with N93,846.50 less money than was actually paid in by the plaintiff going by the relevant counter-foils of tellers which the plaintiff had.