ADB loses appeal against MD

The Court of Appeal has dismissed an application by the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) to stay execution of a judgement debt awarded against it in favour of one of its former managing directors.
On July 31, 2013, the Accra Fast Track High Court ordered the bank to pay GH¢400,000, being entitlements, to its former Managing Director, Mr Yaw Opoku Atuahene.

It also directed that the amount must include interest from July 2009 when the plaintiff’s appointment was wrongfully terminated by the bank.

But the bank appealed against the High Court’s decision and, consequently, filed an application for stay of execution on the ground that its appeal had the likelihood of success, in which case it would suffer irreparable loss should it pay the amount before the final determination of the appeal.

No grounds for stay

Unanimously dismissing the application, Justices F. Kusi-Appiah, F. Korbieh and Senyo Dzamefe were of the considered view that after carefully studying the arguments of parties in the case, the court “finds no exceptional circumstance to warrant the grant of stay of execution”.

The court was of the view that the bank had failed to canvass any serious point of law sufficient for a grant of stay of execution.

Costs of GH¢1,000 were awarded against the ADB in favour of Mr Atuahene.

ADB’s argument

Counsel for the ADB, Mr Stanley Amarteyfio, had informed the court that the payment of the judgement debt to Mr Atuahene would render the bank’s appeal a nugatory in the event it succeeded eventually.

That, according to him, would cause irreparable damage to the bank, especially when Mr Atuahene was currently unemployed and, therefore, not in a position to refund the money.

In the alternative, the bank urged the court to direct it to pay the judgement debt into the court’s coffers until the final determination of the appeal.

Response

Holding a different view, counsel for the former managing director, Mr Godfred Yeboah Dame, prayed the court to dismiss the bank’s application on the grounds that its request to the court to allow it to pay the money into the court’s chest was a subtle attempt to ensure that Mr Atuahene did not enjoy the judgement debt due him.

He indicated that the bank’s position exposed the bad faith on its part because his client had rendered many years of meritorious service to many banks, including the ADB, across the country and was currently running his own business.

Background

The plaintiff was the managing director of the ADB until July 23, 2009 when his employment was terminated with effect from July 31, 2009 with the constitution of a new board after the change of government.

The plaintiff had argued that consequent to the termination of his employment, various pecuniary obligations owed him by the bank had not been discharged.

After persistent but unheeded demands for the satisfaction of same, he issued a writ of summons at the Fast Track Division of the High Court on May 21, 2010.