British Airways V. Mr. P. O. Atoyebi (2014)

LAWGLOBAL HUB Lead Judgment Report

KUDIRAT MOTONMORI OLATOKUNBO KEKERE-EKUN, J.S.C.

This is an appeal against the judgment of the Court of Appeal Lagos Division delivered on 22/6/2010 affirming the judgment of the Federal High Court, Lagos delivered on 2/4/2008.

The brief facts that gave rise to this appeal are as follows: The respondent, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, was a first class passenger on the appellant’s flight from London Heathrow Airport on Sunday 7th May 2000, arriving in Lagos in the early hours of Monday 8th May 2000. At the boarding gate in London, on 7th May 2000, the respondent was informed by a staff member of the appellant that one of the pieces of hand baggage he intended to take onto the flight was too bulky and in excess of the weight allowed for hand luggage. He relinquished the bag to the appellant’s staff to be checked into the aircraft’s hold. It was duly tagged and the respondent was given the appropriate baggage tag. Upon his arrival in Lagos in the morning of 8th May, his bag did not arrive with the flight. He returned to the airport twice a day between 8th and 10th May but his bag did not arrive, even though he had been informed that the bag had been traced at the airport in London and would be sent to Lagos without delay. Notwithstanding the fact that he gave written authority to his personal assistant in London to collect the bag, the appellant refused to release the bag to him and insisted that it would be brought to Lagos. It failed to do so. Having declined to state the contents of the bag because it contained valuables and cash, when it failed to arrive, he was advised to travel back to London to collect it personally. On 10th May, 2000 the respondent travelled back to London with a business class ticket to collect his bag. He was met on arrival by a member of staff of the plaintiff who took him to a large room containing many unshipped bags belonging to Nigerians. He found his bag intact.

As a result of the actions of the appellant, the respondent wrote a letter to it dated 11/5/2000, seeking compensation for the manner in which he was treated and the resultant losses incurred by him. The appellant eventually responded by a letter dated 25/8/2000 wherein it offered the respondent the sum of E508.48. Being utterly dissatisfied with the offer, he instituted an action against the appellant before the Federal High Court Lagos (the trial court) by a writ of summons filed on 6/5/2002. By paragraph 22 of his Further Amended Statement of Claim dated 13/7/2005 at page 127 of the record, he claimed as follows:

“By reason of the Defendant’s incompetence, deliberate act and/or act of negligence the plaintiff has been put to a lot of financial losses, travel stresses, loss of professional time, etc.

PARTICULARS OF LOSSES

a. Cost of One Way First Class Ticket to Lagos 7 May 2000 US$ 1,500

b. 2 return club class ticket to London of 10 May 2000 US$ 3,950

c. One night stay in London hotel, etc 225

d. Taxi costs (Airport, London, etc) for Plaintiff/Assistants E115

e. Phones, Faxes to & fro U.K. – Lagos, etc E73

f. Loss of professional time for travelling to the U.K. @ E150/hr E6,600

g. Damages for stress and inconvenience of travelling E100,000

Total: (a) = US$ 5,450