Rev. Joseph Sunday Kehinde V. Mr Linus Okparaonu (2013)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report – COURT OF APPEAL

PETER OLABISI IGE, JCA (Delivering the Leading Judgment)

By his writ of summons filed in the Registry of Plateau State High Court sitting in Jos on 23rd day of July, 2009, the Respondent as Plaintiff claimed the sum of N16, 000,000.00 (Sixteen Million Naira) against the Appellant as Defendant as being the balance of building Materials the Respondent supplied to the Appellant on credit sometime in 2007 in Jos at the Appellant’s request according to the Respondent.

The Respondent also claimed 10% interest on the said sum from the date of Judgment until final liquidation of the Judgment debt. By the application of the Respondent pursuant to Order 23 Rule 1 of the Plateau State High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules 1987 praying for a transfer of the suit to the Undefended List was granted on 30th day of July, 2009 and the writ was marked “UNDEFENDED LIST”

On 4th day of August 2009 the Appellant filed NOTICE OF INTENTION TO DEFEND the suit accompanied by Affidavit in support of Notice to Defend consisting of 42 paragraphs. The matter was heard before the learned trial Chief Judge of Plateau State and on 25th day of March, 2010 the learned trial Judge gave Judgment against the Appellant having found that Appellant has not made out a case for the transfer of the case to the General Cause List. In his Judgment aforesaid the learned trial Chief Judge held:-

“As stated earlier on the said issue of threat to his life resulting to the issuance of the several dishonoured cheques and exhibit C without him reporting same to the police or any of his colleague’s pastors or confidant is hard to believe, I hold an (sic) accept that Exhibit C is a clear admission on the part of the defendant of his indebtedness to the Plaintiff in the sum of N16,000.000.00 The issue of threat to life or endorsing same under duress is an after thought aimed at either delaying this suit or frustrating the Plaintiff out of the recovery of his liquidated sum demand, I therefore hold that the defendant has no defence on the merit or any defence at all for that matter.

On the issue of claim of 10% post Judgment interest, I hold that this does not disqualify the suit from being heard on the undefended list because it is at the discretion of the court and is provided for in our rules of Court.

On the whole, I hold that by the provision of order 23 Rule 4 of the Plateau State High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules 1987, as amended, the plaintiff is entitled to Judgment in the sum of N16,000,000 as endorsed on the writ of summons without necessarily calling upon him to prove his case formally.

I therefore, hereby enter judgment in favour of the Plaintiff in the sum of N16, 000.00, against the defendant. The Plaintiff is equally entitled to 8% post Judgment interest on the Judgment sum of N16, 000,000”

The Appellant was aggrieved.

On 9th April, 2010 he lodged an appeal against the Judgment of the trial court on three grounds. It is pertinent to reproduce the grounds. They are as follows:-

“GROUNDS OF APPEAL:-

GROUND ONE:-

The learned trial Chief Judge erred in Law when he held that the Appellant did not disclose a defence on the merit to warrant the case to be transferred to the general cause list for trial and thereby entered Judgment against the Appellant.

PARTICULARS OF ERROR