Before Their Lordships
MOHAMMED BELLO Justice of The Supreme Court of Nigeria
CHUCKWUNWEIKE IDIGBE Justice of The Supreme Court of Nigeria
ANDREWS OTUTU OBASEKI Justice of The Supreme Court of Nigeria
KAYODE ESO Justice of The Supreme Court of Nigeria
MOHAMMADU LAWAL UWAIS Justice of The Supreme Court of Nigeria
Between
KIGO(NIGERIA) LTD---PLAINTIFF/RESPONDENT
And
HOLMAN BROS. (NIGERIA) LTD--–DEFENDANT/APPLICANT
And
GODWIN BARSBY LTD--–THIRD PARTY/RESPONDENT
……………………………A……………………………
Judgement of the Court
Delivered by
Kayode Eso. J.S.C
On 5th May 1980, we granted the prayer of the Applicant, on a motion that pending the determination of the appeal filed herein, further proceedings in the action now pending before the Kano High Court shall before the Kano High Court shall be stayed …… … ……………………and reserved our reasons for so doing till today. To appreciate my reasons for coming to the decision taken with Your Lordships that the stay, prayed for, as aforementioned, be granted, it is necessary for me to state the facts that led to the application which gave rise to this aforesaid order of this Court.
The plaintiff in the High Court, Kigo (Nigeria) Limited who in this Ruling will hereinafter be referred to as the Respondent, took an action against the Defendant, that is, the Applicant in this court, and who hereinafter in this Ruling, will be referred to as the Applicant. The claim as per the writ of summons is as follows ……..the right to reject the whole crushing plant comprising one Goliath primary Crusher 30 x 18 and one Goliath Secondary 30 x 24 sold and delivered by the defendant to the plaintiff between April and September 1978.
…………………….special and general damages for several breaches of contract by defendant in respect of goods sold and delivered by the defendant and for several wrongs committed in tort against the plaintiff including deceit, fraud, false representations and negligence whereby the plaintiff has suffered substantial damages.
The total amount of special damages was N3,836,323.02. There was also a claim for general damages and interest.
The Applicant thereupon served a Third Party Notice upon Godwin Barsby Limited, hereinafter referred to in this ruling as the Third Party claiming to be indemnified against the plaintiff’s claim and the costs of the action or alternate contribution in respect of all or each of the plaintiff’s claim on the grounds that the plaintiff’s claim is the result of (sic) the third party’s acts of commission and/or omission breaches of contract and breaches of warranty.
