Miss Chinwe Emuwa V. Consolidated Discounts Ltd. (2000)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report

GALADIMA, J.C.A. 

Th

is is an appeal by the defendant against the judgment of the High Court of Lagos State dated 22/5/97 per Silva J. for the sum of N582.500.33, in favour of plaintiff (hereinafter referred to as respondent).

Dissatisfied with the judgment, the defendant (hereinafter referred to as appellant) appealed to this court on 3 grounds.

At the hearing of the appeal, learned Counsel adopted their respective briefs of argument on behalf of their clients. The appellant identified 3 issues as calling for determination which read as follows:

“(i) Whether having regard to paragraphs 7 and 8 of agreement dated 8/3/96 (pages 13-17 of the record), the learned trial Judge was entitled to hold that there was an agreement between the parties that the defendant was to remain in the service of the plaintiff for one year after training?.

(ii) Whether the affidavit in support of the plaintiffs application dated 3/3/97 (pages 9-17 of the record) is in compliance with the requirements of Order 11 rule 1 of the High Court of Lagos State (Civil Procedure) Rules 1994; the deponent not being a person who could swear positively to the facts and if so whether it was proper for the learned trial Judge to proceed to judgment?.

(iii) Whether it was right and proper for the learned trial Judge to have proceeded to enter judgment in favour of the plaintiff when the contention of law raised by the defendant to wit: that there was no agreement between the parties as to the period within which the defendant was to remain in the employment of the plaintiff after training and therefore no possibility of liability under paragraph 8 of the agreement dated 8/3/96 (pages 13-17 of the record) was not clearly without merit?.

The respondent in their brief having adopted the appellant’s first issue, further raised two other issues for determination thus:

“(i) Whether the deponent to the affidavit in support of the application for summary judgment is competent to depose to the said affidavit and whether he complied with the provisions of Order 11 rule 1 of the High Court of Lagos State (Civil Procedure) Rules?.

(ii) Whether the appellant had any defence on the merit to the respondent’s claim?.

The issues postulated by the parties are similar. However, before I consider the issues as formulated, there is need to briefly give the background facts of this case. The respondent is a company duly licenced to carry on the business of a discount house, while the appellant was its employee.

In order to prepare the appellant for the challenges of dealing with the respondent’s customers and members of the public in the capital market and also in view of the fact that discount house business had just been introduced in this country then, the respondent undertook to train the appellant, (a pioneer staff) in Ghana, on the condition that the appellant would continue in the employment of the plaintiff for a period stipulated in the agreement. The agreement provides inter alia, thus:

“Whereas under the company’ s training programme for the training and development of its staff and employees, the company has nominated the employee to attend a training and development programme consequent upon which the employee agrees to be bound upon the terms and conditions hereinafter appearing: