G.U.O. Okeke & Sons Ltd & Anor. V. Felix Usifor (2007)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report

M. D. MUHAMMAD, J. C. A.

This is an appeal against the decision of the Ogun State High Court in Suit No.HCJ/83/2000 presided by M.O. Dipeolu J. The Respondent in this appeal was the Plaintiff at the lower court while the Appellant was the Defendant.

Respondent’s claim against the Appellant and one other person now deceased, jointly and severally, was for the sum of seven hundred and eighty-eight thousand five hundred naira (N788,500:00k) being special damages for the cost of repairs of Respondent’s Toyota Hiace Vehicle with Registration NO.AS 939 KJA and loss of income for (83) eighty-three days at the rate of N4,500:00k per day when the said vehicle was off the road following the accident caused by the negligence of the Defendants Respondent’s further claim included:-

(1) Interest on the aforesaid sum at the rate of 32% per annum from 10th may 1999 till judgment and thereafter at 10% till liquidation of the judgment debt;

(2) General Damages of N500,000:00k and;

(3) Cost of this action.

From his pleadings and the evidence led, Respondent’s case is that his vehicle was hit by another vehicle driven negligently by DW1 a person in the employment of the Appellant. The cost of repairs of Respondent’s damaged Toyota Hiace vehicle with registration No. AS 939 KJA was put at N450,000:00k by an engineering consultant engaged by the Respondent to estimate the cost of repairing the damaged vehicle. The vehicle was later towed and repaired.

On the other hand, Appellants’ case is that the accident and the subsequent damage on Respondent’s Hiace vehicle did not result from Appellant driver’s negligence. Instead, the impact of another vehicle hitting Appellants’ own coupled with another accident on the other side of the road caused the accident that damaged Respondent’s vehicle.

At the end of trial, the lower court on 22-2-2003 dismissed the Appellants’ counter claim and found for the Respondent in terms thus:-

(a) The sum of N415,000.00k being cost of repairs, panel beating and spraying of the Toyata Hiace bus with Registration No. AS 939 KIA with interest at the rate of 10% per annum from 18th February 1999 until today.

(b) N373,500:00k being loss of income for 83 days from 18/2/99 till 11th May 1999 at the rate of N4,500:00k per day and 10% interest from 18/2/99 till the judgment debt is liquidated.

Being dissatisfied, the 2nd Defendant at the lower court has appealed against the Court’s foregoing decision on a notice containing four grounds.

The two issues contained in Appellants’ brief for the determination of this appeal read:-

“(1) Whether the trial court actually evaluated the evidence of the parties and dealt with the issues in contention between the parties before reaching its decision.