A.B.C (Transport Company) Limited V. Miss Bunmi Omotoye (2019)

LAWGLOBAL HUB Lead Judgment Report

UWANI MUSA ABBA AJI, J.S.C.

This appeal is against the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt Division, delivered on 18/6/2009, which set aside the judgment of the High Court of Rivers State, Port Harcourt that dismissed the claims of the Respondent contained in the amended statement of claim dated 17/6/2003 at page 21 of the record as follows:

(a) A declaration that the defendant was negligent in handling the goods belonging to the plaintiff which the defendant was to deliver from Lagos to Port Harcourt to the plaintiff covered by receipt on 27/7/2000, which caused damages to the goods,

(b) An order of the Court compelling the defendant to pay to the plaintiff the following:

(i) The sum of N 117,000.00 (One Hundred and Seventeen Thousand Naira) being the value of the goods damaged

(ii) The sum of 4,700.00 (Four Thousand Seven Hundred Naira) being the cost of transport to and from Port Harcourt to Lagos.

(iii) The sum of N 1,000,000.00 (One Million Naira only) being damages for loss of goodwill, loss of turnover on the goods and loss of profit.

TOTAL N1,121,700.00

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It is the fact that the Respondent on 28/7/2000 travelled in one of the Appellant’s buses from Lagos to Port Harcourt with some goods she was to deliver to a customer but that the goods got damaged because of the negligence of the Appellant, who placed them in a place where heat from the engine of the bus damaged them. After the close of the trial, the trial Court dismissed the Respondent’s suit in its judgment contained at pages 62-69 of the record. Dissatisfied, she appealed to the lower Court, which allowed her appeal and granted her reliefs save relief (b) of Sub-paragraph (iii) of the amended statement of claim. Dissatisfied, the Appellant appealed to this Court.

By a Notice of Appeal, the Appellant formulated 4 Grounds of appeal with their particulars for the determination of this appeal. In arguing the appeal, the Appellant filed on 19/8/2011, an Appellant’s Brief wherein he formulated 2 issues for the determination of the appeal thus:

1. Whether the Court of Appeal was justified in holding that the Respondent proved her case against the Appellant. (Grounds 1, 2 & 4).
2. Whether the Court of Appeal was justified in holding that the High

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Court denied the Respondent of a fair hearing in its findings on the exemption clause contained in Exhibits A and B respectively. (Ground 3).

On the other hand, the Respondent filed a Brief of Argument deemed filed on 3/7/2013 wherein he also formulated 2 issues for the determination of the appeal as follows: