By Emmanuel Ntekim
The Court of Appeal sitting in Lagos has upheld the judgment of the Lagos State High Court, which ordered Union Homes Savings and Loans Plc, a subsidiary of Union Bank Plc to refund N75.5m to a private company in Lagos, Abimbola Foods Limited being excesss charges and levies with interest until the final liquidation of the said excesses.
The appellate Court’s affirmation is contained in its judgment of appeal brought by the Appellant, Union Homes Savings and Loans Plc against the Respondent, Abimbola Foods Limited.
In a lead judgment read by Hon. Justice Ntong Ntong, the Court of Appeal held that the Appellant was in breach of offer and acceptance letter for the loan account by calling up the loan of N18m before its expiration and continued debiting the Respondent’s Current Account to the tune of N16m while the transaction was terminated by the Appellant.
The appellate Court also affirmed the order of the trial Court directing the Appellant to release to the respondent, all her title documents of real properties surrendered as security and awarded the cost of N200,000 against Union Homes Savings and Loans Plc.
The Court described the Appellant’s action of excessive charges as opprobrious, damning and cruel and warned other banks to desist from excessive and inordinate charges of their customers.
Abimbola Foods Limited had claimed among other reliefs, that the Appellant was in breach of banker-customer relationship and claimed for monies illegally withdrawn from its account and return of its title documents with a declaration that the Union Homes Savings and Loans Plc by its action in liquidating its mortgage loan facility of N18m after five repayments and debiting the trading current account with N16m; was in breach of the terms in the letter of offer and acceptance dated January 26, 2009.
The Lagos State High Court presided over by Hon. Justice S. I. Sonaike in suit number: LD/1392/2012 had delivered the judgement on the 22nd day of September, 2017 against the Union Homes Savings and Loans Plc.
Dissatisfied with the judgment, the Union Homes filed the appeal and nominated issues for the determination on whether the amended statement of claim dated 30th April, 2015 but admittedly filed out of time on 5th May, 2015 became a nullity when the learned trial judge jettisoned the order made on 8th October, 2017 to regularize the same and purported to raise and determine the issue of regularity of the filing on 5th May, 2015 of the said amended statement of claim without calling on the parties to address the court on it.
The appellate Court resolved the issues in favor of the Respondent and held that the Respondent’s amended statement of claim was properly regularized and valid and that the trial Court rightly admitted and relied on the forensic reports and testimony of the Respondent’s witness.
Justice Ntong also held that the Respondent proved its case of breach of contract and excess charges against the Appellant and that the Appellant failed to establish its counterclaim with credible evidence.
In dismissing the appeal for lacking in merit, the appellate Court also affirmed the judgment of the trial court with no order as to cost.
