SECAPS GETS HOTEL BACK

AFTER six years of litigation over the ownership of the Secaps Hotel in Accra, the Accra High Court has entered judgement in favour of the original owners of the hotel to recover possession from Grobohama Limited.
The court also awarded ¢50 million as general damages for trespass and costs of ¢10 million.
According to the court, the mere fact that the hotel was functioning properly at the time it was seized and the fact that its managing director owed the defendants did not give them the legal right to take over the hotel in the absence of a court order.
“A debt is a debt and it is recoverable within the time limited for its recovery,” the court held.
The Managing Director of the hotel, Mr Smart Binitie, commenced legal action against Grobohama Ltd and four others claiming possession of the hotel and its premises, as well as general damages and special damages for taking over the hotel in or about September 2001.
The take-over was necessitated by a botched agreement entered into between the plaintiffs and the defendants to become business associates.
During the misunderstanding, the management of Grobohama Ltd drove away the staff of the hotel and placed a security firm there to guard the premises, after the managing director of the hotel had been imprisoned.
The matter later went to court and the status quo of the hotel was preserved without any explicit order as to its take- over.
That court, presided over by Mrs Justice H. Inkumsah-Abban, on September 18, 2001 ordered that the property should not be disposed of until the final determination of the matter.
Attempt was later made to sell the hotel through an advertisement in the Business in Africa magazine but the plaintiff indicated that Grobohama Ltd took possession of the hotel without any court order.
On the contrary, Grobohama Ltd argued that it took over the hotel legally.
Consequently, it was left with the court to determine whether the take-over was legal or not.
According to the court, it was true, from the earlier court ruling on September 18, 2001, that no explicit order was given in favour of Grobohama Ltd and the fact that the hotel was functioning properly at the material time and the fact that its managing director owed did not give Grobohama the legal right to take over the hotel.
It said it was Grobohama Ltd which sued the managing director of Secaps in 2000, adding that that suit was still pending when it took over the possession of the hotel.
According to the court, Grobohama Ltd and its managing director wrongfully arrogated to themselves their own interpretation of the court ruling of September 18, 2000 and acted unlawfully.
“I have no difficulty in holding that they acted unlawfully and so are liable to the act of trespass they committed on September 20, 2001 when they took possession of the hotel,” declared Mrs Justice Beatrice Agyeman-Bempah, who presided over the court.