Mandilas And Keraberis Ltd Vs Chief Yesufu D. Otokiti (1963)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report

BAIRAMIAN. F.J

The plaintiffs have appealed, and the defendant has cross-appealed, from the judgement in the Benin Suit No. 27 of 1957 given on 8th November, 1960. The parties entered into a contract on the 5th November, 1953, in relation to the defendant’s concessions in the Forest Reserve, with a view to his giving the plaintiffs all the logs he extracted.

There is in evidence an agreement in writing-Exhibit A, put in by consent at the trial-which recites that the company advanced a loan of £I ,800 in timber vehicles, to enable the defendant to exploit his timber concessions, fell timber and supply on sale all the timber to the company; the next recital mentions the concessions, which cover about 150 square miles, and the terms of agreement follow in regard to the timber to be supplied to the plaintiffs at their beach and the prices to be paid; and the defendant was to repay the loan of £ 1,800 in logs within six months.

The final clause is that the agreement was to endure for five years, but could be terminated on twelve months notice, which, however, if given by the defendant, would not take effect until his account was completely balanced.

In addition to giving the defendant two lorries on credit, the company gave him money for his forest permit and made also other cash advances to him; they supplied him with petrol, tyres, and tubes, and they repaired his lorries on credit. He supplied logs, but not in sufficient quantity, and his debit mounted, so the plaintiffs decided when the six months or so were over, that they would give him no more credit. He had some logs felled and lying in the forest, but was unable to spend the money for taking them to the waterside.

The plaintiffs considered whether it was worth their taking the logs to the waterside themselves, but it seems decided against it. Moreover, the lorries needed over hauling, and the defendant took one to the Benin garage in November, 1954, and the other in February, 1955. He wanted them repaired on credit, but that was refused. He had no money to have them repaired elsewhere, and left his lorries in the garage- which was an open air garage.

The plaintiffs wished him to take them away. Eventually, near November, 1956, he wished to remove them; there is a letter from the company to him, dated 13th November, 1956, in which he is told that he had always been and still was at liberty to remove them. When his agent went to do so, the lorries could not be found. There was conversation between the parties.

He claimed £ I ,200 as value and a vast amount as damages. The plaintiffs wrote in January, 1957 that they were willing to pay what they thought was the value- £700-but no more. Early in April, 1957, the plaintiffs sued for £3,238-17s-7d “being debt owed by the defendant”.

The Statement of Claim avers that the plaintiffs sold two lorries on credit, and supplied petrol, etc., and made cash advances against logs; also that they repaired the lorries on credit. Two accounts were annexed to it. The Defence denies the accounts and goes on to allege an oral agreement between the parties as having been entered into on the 5th November, 1953, the terms of which are similar to those set out in the written agreement of that date-Exhibit A-with, however, these additions:- “The plaintiff shall advance all monies necessary for the manufacture of the logs either in cash or in kind including:-

(i) the value of 2 Austin ex-army type lorries B 1505 and B 1506 at £900 each and the cost of repairs to these lorries.

(ii) the official fee payable as royalty for licence to fell timber and manufacture logs in a Forest Reserve.

(iii) the cost of labour and material necessary for felling and evacuation of logs from the Forest Areas BC, BC 15/2 and BC3/ 1 respectively to the plaintiff’s beach at Sapele.

(iv) the plaintiff shall make these money advances aforesaid throughout the 5 years period as and when necessary and requested so to do. (v) the defendant shall pay for these money advances by the supply of logs and shall supply logs to the value of not less than £3000 in each of the first six months commencing on the 5th day of November, 1953 in liquidation of the value of the two Austin lorries B 1505 and B 1506. and thereafter the said lorries shall become his bona fide property.”

The defence goes on to admit taking the lorries as a credit of £ 1,800, and two cash advances amounting to £450, alleging it was pursuant to that oral contract; a number of pages of narrative follow, and then comes a counter-claim partly about the lorries and partly about the logs left in the bush, and about a few items of credit due to the defendant. The plaintiffs’ reply is a denial of the oral agreement alleged with sundry other denials.