Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Limited V. Yinka World Investment Limited & Anor (2012)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report – COURT OF APPEAL

MOHAMMED AMBI-USI DANJUMA, J.C.A. (Delivering the Leading Judgment)

This is an appeal against the Judgment of the Lagos State High Court in Suit No ID/1792/2002 wherein Judgment was delivered in favour of the Claimants/Respondents on the 12th day of July, 2007. By the said Judgment, the Respondent was awarded the sum of N11.85 million as the value of lost cargo and 10% interest on the said sum from the date of Judgment until final liquidation.

The claims at the trial court were as contained on pages 1 – 4 of the additional Record of Appeal filed by the Respondent.

By a Writ of Summons dated 6th November, 2002, and a further Amended statement of claim dated 29th September, 2005, the Respondent as claimant claimed as follows:-

The sum of N11.85 million being the value of four (a) cargoes belonging to the plaintiffs ie claimants but lost through the negligent handling of the defendant and its agents through the breach of contract; ALTERNATIVELY.

Delivery to the claimant of the four pieces of cargoes (sic) belonging to the claimants and containing a variety of high quality wrist watches.

A sum of N7 million loss of profit or earning resulting from the loss of cargoes- 10% interest per annum from the date of Judgment until full payment of the Judgment sum.

The Defendant filed an Amended Statement of Defence dated 10th January, 2003.

At the close of hearing, Judgment was entered for the plaintiff and the objection of the Defendant as to the jurisdiction of the state High court was overruled as the claim was held to relate to a contract of Bailment, express or implied between the parties and not a contract on International Aviation governed by the Admiralty jurisdiction of the Federal High Court exclusively.

It is instructive that at page 43 of the Record of this Appeal is contained the Judgment of this court in CA/L/133/2001 between the same parties herein, wherein this court had dismissed the appeal of the present Appellant and entered Judgment in favour of the Respondent when it held that the Federal High Court had no jurisdiction over the matter, but the Lagos State High Court, to which it made an order for the transfer of the case for expeditious trial.

It is against the trial and Judgment delivered by the Lagos State High Court, that this appeal has been lodged. The initial Notice of Appeal was withdrawn and refiled by the order of this court granted on the 24/10/11. The initial Notice of Appeal was filed on and is dated 6th September, 2007, but was struck out on 20/4/11.

The said order was granted after the court had taken argument in respect of motion filed 27/4/11. Appellant filed the Appellant’s Brief of Argument on 6/10/09 but it was regularized on 22/4/10 by order of this court and deemed filed within time.

a. It is the case of the Appellant that the loss of his goods in the Appellants warehouse at the Muritala Mohammed Airport on the 28th July 1999, arose from a contract of International Transportation by Air covered by Airway Bill.

The Appellant in his Brief of argument formulated 4 issues for determination from the 6 grounds of Appeal set out in his Notice of appeal.