Beloxxi Industries Ltd & Anor. V. Hwa Tai Industries Berhard Ltd. (2011)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report – COURT OF APPEAL

CLARA BATA OGUNBIYI, J.C.A, (Delivering the Leading Judgment)

The appeal at hand is a product of a ruling of the High Court of Lagos State sitting at Ikeja delivered on the 4th day of February 2010, and was made following the Claimant/Respondents’ application dated 2nd April, 2009 wherein the following reliefs sought were as follows:-

(1) An Order entering final judgment against the Defendants jointly and severally in the sum of USD111,748,09 (One hundred and eleven thousand, seven hundred and forty eight dollars and nine cent) being debts owed the Claimant by the Defendants in respect of goods supplied to the Defendants which the Defendants have defaulted to pay for.

(2) An order directing the Defendants to pay interest on the said sum at the rate 45% per annum from August 4, 2004 till full and final judgment debt is paid.

(3) An order directing the Defendants to pay N2,000,000:00 (Two Million Naira) general damages to the claimant.”

The application was supported by a 13 paragraphs affidavit and three Exhibits A, B and C as well as a written address dated 2nd April, 2009. The defendants/appellants opposed the application by filing a 15 paragraphs counter affidavit accompanied with 5 Exhibits AE1 – AE5 also a written address dated 18th May 2009.

The Defendants/Appellants maintained that in summary judgment proceedings, the court is only obliged to determine whether the Defendants have made out a triable issue and to proceed to trial of the action on the merits where it finds that a case has been made out. It was further maintained that the suit was an abuse of process given that the same issues were being tried in SUIT No. ID/1070/2008 between the same parties.

The learned trial judge in its ruling dated 4th February 2010 and at page 140 of the additional record of appeal formulated two issues upon which the application was determined as follows:-

(1) Whether based on the affidavit evidence before this Honourable court, the Defendants can be said to have admitted owing the sum of USD111,748.09 (One hundred and Eleven thousand, seven hundred and forty eight dollars, nine cents).

(2) Whether there was an abuse of the court process by the institution of this suit based on the fact that the subject matter of this present suit is already being canvassed in the SUIT NO.ID/1070/2008, between the same parties.”

At pages 143 and 144 of the additional record of appeal the learned trial judge held and said:-

“…………the Defendants averments are clear and unambiguous and the court is satisfied from the facts averred in the said paragraphs that the Defendants’ admission of its indebtedness to the claimant in the amount stated is clear and unequivocal.

In view of the above facts I find this to be a clear admission of indebtedness to the Applicant only in the admitted sum and find no need to consider any other evidence in the determination of whether or not there was an admission of indebtedness to the claimant by the Defendants in that sum. A Defendant is precluded from retracting his admission of specific facts placed by a plaintiff. Such facts having been admitted, no further proof of their truth is required. The Defendant is held bound by the facts and the trial court would be justified in acting upon it. Adeye Vs. Adesanya (2001) 6 NWLR (Pt.708) page 1 at 3.

In the light of the above I find the Defendants’ admissions to be clear, unequivocal, specific and unambiguous. On the above premise, I hereby enter judgment for the claimant in the admitted sum of USD106,748.09 (One Hundred and six thousand, seven hundred and forty-eight dollars and nine cents.) in its naira equivalent. The Defendant is further ordered to pay the interest on the admitted sum at the rate of 10% from the 4th August 2004 till full and final judgment sum is paid…………I am of the opinion that this present suit is not an abuse of the court process on the ground that an abuse of process occurs when a claimant uses legal process to harass or irritate an adversary or employs it to impede the administration of justice. In other words, abuse of process arises where the court’s process is being used mala fide. It is not enough that because two suits have been instituted against the same parties on the same subject matter. He has to go further to establish that claimant’s suit was not motivated mala fide, which in my opinion he has failed to do. Nwoboshi v State (1998) 10 NWLR (Pt. 568) page 131 at 141.”