Court vacates ruling in favour of Sweaters & Socks on $28.5million judgement debt
The Accra High Court Monday set aside its earlier ruling for the state to pay $28.5 million in judgement debt to Sweaters and Socks, a private manufacturing company.
Advertisement
The case of contempt of court filed against the Governor of the Bank of Ghana in relation to the case was also withdrawn by the plaintiff.
The state had filed a motion for an order to set aside the void orders of the High Court, presided over by Mrs Justice Elizabeth Ankomah.
In its motion, the state, represented by a Principal State Attorney, Mrs Sylvia Adusu, argued that the reliefs in the plaintiff’s writ were only on account of how the factory was run.
After the ruling of the High Court, presided over by Mr Justice Ekumsah Abban, who first sat on the matter, Mrs Justice Ankomah made further orders for the payment of money which the state maintained were void and so moved to set them aside.
Monday, Mrs Justice Ankomah granted the state’s application in its entirety, stating that she had a right to set aside her own void judgement.
After the court had set aside the payment by the state, the state and the plaintiff met at High Court 22 where the contempt proceedings against the Governor of the Bank of Ghana were pending.
In view of the ruling by Mrs Justice Ankomah, counsel for the plaintiff withdrew his application for contempt.
Other Trending Stories
Sweaters and Socks, which had 748 workers, was inaugurated in 1966 but was confiscated by the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) through AFRC Decree 38 in 1979.
Not satisfied with the action of the AFRC, the company undertook a court action against the state in 1994 and was eventually granted the $28.5 million judgement, which was challenged by the state.
The Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mrs Marietta Brew-Oppong Appiah, was once in court to challenge the $28.5 million judgement debt that had been awarded against the state on the grounds that proceedings conducted by Mrs Justice Ankomah between September 30, 2011 and December 20, 2011 based on amended estimates filed by the plaintiff were null and void.
Arguing before the same judge who had granted the estimates provided by the plaintiff, Mrs Adusu prayed the court to set aside its proceedings and ruling because the court was “enticed” by the plaintiff with its submissions.
Story: Donald Ato Dapatem