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Court grants injunction to Shell Petroleum dealers
Accra, Jan. 24 Ghanadot/GNA, – An Accra
Fast Track High Court on Thursday granted an interlocutory
injunction to a group of petroleum dealers in Accra and
Kumasi restraining Shell Ghana Limited (SGL) or their agents
from terminating the dealership agreement they have with the
company, pending the determination of a suit before the
court.
The court, presided over by Mr. Justice K. A. Acquaye
however, ordered that the dealers should file an undertaking
in two weeks to compensate SGL in case they lost the
substantive case.
This was because Mr Daniel Amartefio, Counsel for SGL had
prayed the court that it was a rule that once the injunction
was granted to the plaintiffs they should be made to
initiate an undertaking to compensate his client for any
loss of revenue.
He said the last contract between SGL and the dealers
expired in December, 2005 and that there had not been any
new agreement since then.
He said the dealers demand for SGL to compensate them
because some of the actions taken by the company had
affected their businesses.
Mr Sebastian K. Amoah, Counsel for the Petroleum dealers
argued that the nature and requirements of Shell's business
compelled them to rely on loans
from their bankers to enable them to execute the dealership
agreement for the benefit of Shell, and they could not repay
those loans to their respective
banks if reasonable notice of termination of the dealership
agreement was not given.
He further argued that they had entered into agreements with
their creditors and if the said agreements were to be
terminated without incurring liabilities such as the payment
of damages, reasonable notice was required by them for the
termination of their dealerships.
The dealers held that the several workers they employed
could not be conveniently laid off without incurring huge
liabilities within the short notice given by Shell.
The dealers are Godfred Motey Addo, Esther Mullings, Rebecca
Tagoe, Thompson Obimpeh, Osei Bonsu, Ambruce Kumassah,
Benjamin Boateng and De-Kuza Akueteh, all of Accra. The rest
are Titus Owens-Dey, George Russel Teye, Lucy Osafo Agyekum,
Emmanuel Inkoom and Samuel Aidoo, all also from Accra.
The others from Kumasi are Robert Osei Bonsu, Richard Puni,
Emmanuel Kwasi Donkor and Justice Acheampong.
GNA
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