CENTRAL UNIVERSITY

END-OF- FIRST SEMESTER EXAMINATION: 2020/2021

TERM PAPER
FACULTY OF LAW
BACHELOR OF LAWS (LL. B)
LEVEL [200/300]
COURSE CODE: LAW 203
COURSE TITLE: LAW OF TORTS
SUBMISSION DATE & TIME: 4TH MAY, 2021 @ 10:00AM
Index number …………… Session …….……Campus……..…
INSTRUCTIONS
1. This exam has THREE (3) SETS of questions. You are required to answer only ONE (1) SET.
2. Your answer must be typed out in the format below:
 Times New Roman
 Font Size 12
 Line Spacing 1.5
 Word Count: Min 1500 and Max 2000 words.
3. Marks will be awarded for good layout, justified typesetting, clarity in legal arguments, proper use of
legal authorities and Oscola referencing.
4. Please note that all the rules and policies of the University in respect of examinations apply fully to these
exams. Sanctions therefore apply to all forms of examination malpractices such as Cheating, Plagiarism,
Collusion, Fabrication and Falsification of facts, figures, case titles and citations,
Impersonation/Ghost/Contract Writing, etc. Accordingly, please take note of the possibility of being
called upon to defend submitted works in certain instances when malpractice is suspected.
5. Remember to insert your index number and campus in the spaces provided above, while indicating your
session as Regular/Evening/ or Weekend.
6. You are required to save your work on the vcampus.central.edu.gh (Moodle) platform with your index
number. NB: It is a malpractice to submit your work to any lecturer, officer, or examiner via their
private or official email addresses or via WhatsApp, or any other mode (hard copy or soft copy) apart
from the officially approved platform i.e. vcampus.central.edu.gh (Moodle)

Examiner(s): E. Baboa Opoku, Bakhita M. Koblavie, Sussana Afutu and Mensima Crentsil
QUESTION 1
A. With the aid of relevant authorities briefly discuss EITHER of the following concepts:
i. The formulation of the rule in Rylands v. Fletcher

OR

ii. The rule in Wilkinson v. Downton

[15
marks]

B. Oly and Goldie are husband and wife who live in Palatino Valley Estate in Accra.
Relations between the couple have been sour for some months, leading to frequent incidents
of quarrels and heated arguments.

On the 13th of April 2021, the couple had another episode of a fiery argument because Goldie
wanted to attend the wedding of her best friend, Ella, which her husband vehemently
opposed. She was about to set off at 7:30 am when her husband dragged her into the
basement of their home and locked her there. Goldie screamed for help but nobody came to
her rescue.

Two (2) hours later, she was able to force open the rusty window which is the only opening
from the basement, into their neighbour, Oluwa’s garden. Just when Goldie was about to
crawl out of the window into the garden, she heard her husband, Oly opening the basement
door. She was frightened and hurriedly went out through the window, into the garden,
dislocating her ankle in the process.

Oluwa is known to deal in special species of flowers and vegetables which do not ordinarily
grow well in Ghana, and therefore employs unconventional means to nurse and grow them.
As a result of Goldie’s dislocated ankle, she limped and run carelessly through the garden,
seeing that her husband Oly was chasing after her. In the process, they both destroyed the
plants Oluwa had nursed, barely three (3) weeks ago.

Oluwa, upon sensing the presence of intruders in his garden, unleashed his German Shepherd
dog, which chased and bit Goldie in the calf. Bleeding profusely, she managed to escape,
running onto the property adjoining Oluwa’s garden, belonging to a photographer, AJ, who is
noted for bringing prostitutes home. The residents, including Oly and Goldie, have
complained countless times but the estate managers have not taken steps to investigate the
complaints.

Goldie ran into AJ’s house, where the dog finally lost her. She went through the kitchen using
the back door and through to the living room and into the bedroom, where she bumped into
the scene of AJ in bed with three (3) ladies. She apologized profusely and continued through
the bedroom door into an open back yard by the bedroom. She stopped dead when she saw
her husband pointing a gun at her, and saying the words “today is the day death will actually
do us part.”

Out of nowhere, a horse later identified as belonging to Aileen who is AJ’s immediate
neighbor, jumped onto Oly and pushed him to the ground. The gun went off and killed AJ’s

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cat, Fluffy, in the process. Aileen could not explain how the horse escaped. It was later found
that Oly had sneaked through Aileen’s gate to accost his wife Goldie, in AJ’s backyard.

Meanwhile, Goldie fainted upon hearing the dreadful death threat by her husband and
suffered a miscarriage of a 15-weeks old pregnancy in the process.

i. With the aid of relevant authorities, identify the area(s) of law and discuss the issues
involving the parties who may have claims or against whom claims may be brought
in the extract contemplated above.

[12 marks]

ii. Are there any remedies and/or defenses available to the identified parties?

[8 marks]
C. Answer BOTH:

i. Compare and contrast the following subject areas:

 Law of Torts and Law of Contract

AND

 Law of Torts and Human Rights

[10 marks]

ii. With the aid of relevant authorities, briefly discuss the concept of Defamation.
[15
marks]

QUESTION 2

A. Foli is an astute banker with several years of experience. He was recently promoted to the
position of Managing Director at Capal Bank. As a result of his new role, he has been
working late nights more frequently, which has affected his family life. He and his wife
Merley, have reached a compromise to have dinner in his office suite on nights when he has
to work late. So far, the arrangement has worked well.

On the eve of 14th February, Foli and Merley had a private romantic candle-lit dinner in Foli’s
office suite. Merley left shortly after to a hotel suite where she and Foli had planned to spend
the rest of the evening. Upon her arrival at the hotel, she ran into an old friend from her
school days and they engaged in a brief exchange of pleasantries and banter. They kissed
each other on the cheek as they parted.
Foli arrived at the hotel a couple of hours after his wife got in. They were interrupted by a
knock at the door of their suite at a quarter to midnight. A large woman barged into the room
and shoved Foli to the floor in the process. She immediately took to shouting which attracted
a motley crowd of nearby hotel guests, who stood in the doorway of Foli’s hotel suite. The
woman accused Merley of being a harlot who was sleeping with her husband, Kyei, the old
friend Merley had ran into at the hotel lobby upon her arrival. The woman then scattered

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some photographs of Merley and Kyei, as they kissed each other on the cheek at the hotel
lobby from earlier that evening, unto the floor. Merley quickly disclosed the details of her
brief encounter with Kyei that evening to Foli.
The woman realized too late that she had acted rashly after Merley’s disclosure. She however
maintained her menacing posture and threatened to strike Merley on the cheek. Foli however
caught her hand mid-air and prevented what would have been a deft slap to Merley. The
woman warned Merley sternly, shouting: “let this be your first and last time; because the
next time I catch you with my husband, I will put the fear of God in you”. Both Foli and
Merley were left speechless. They hurriedly dispersed the motley group of guests from their
doorway and turned in without any further interruptions.
A couple of days went by and Merley was entering the premises of Capal Bank to have
dinner with Foli when she overheard two of the secretaries gossiping about her. One said to
the other, “there goes the Judas who betrays with a kiss” and they giggled till Merley stared
them dead in the eye and approached them. They quickly resumed a pretentious posture and
claimed that their statement was not in reference to Merley when confronted.
Nii Kwao, who has long been jealous of Foli’s hard work and success, reported Foli’s
‘unofficial late night meetings’ at the office suite to the Management Board of Capal Bank.
Disciplinary action was instituted against Foli while a committee of enquiry, constituted by
Nii Kwao, looked into the matter. The findings of the committee however proved that Foli
was merely having dinner with his wife in the office suite from time to time and nothing
more. Foli was therefore exonerated and reinstated and even received compensation from the
Board to make up for any discomfort occasioned to him by their disciplinary action.
Identify the area(s) of law contemplated in the extract above and with the aid of relevant
authorities and illustrations, discuss the claims of Foli and Merley. Your discussion should
contemplate any available remedies and or defences to the parties if any.

[20 marks]

B. i. Briefly explain ALL of the following concepts or phrases with relevant illustrations and
authorities where applicable:
 Actionable per se
 Nolle Prosequi
 Non-natural use of land
 Prescription
 “A loss must lie where it falls, unless there is good reason to shift it”
[10 marks]
ii. Answer EITHER:
Compare and contrast the similarities and differences between the torts of Malicious
Prosecution and False imprisonment.
[10 marks]
OR
Distinguish between Trespass to Land and Private Nuisance drawing out the
similarities and differences between them both with the aid of relevant authorities and
illustrations.

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 [10 marks]
C. “I think it is most important to guard the goods of a deceased person from interference,
except in case of necessity. Beyond that I think no intermeddling ought to be allowed.
Voluntary and capricious interference should be altogether forbidden.”
Cleasby B @ pg 59, Kirk v. Gregory (1876) 34 Lt 488; 1 Ex. D. 55

i. Explain the above statement with the aid of relevant authorities and illustrations
where applicable.
[15 marks]

ii. What area(s) of law is contemplated when crops are affixed to the soil by way of
being planted and when they have been harvested into a basket which is on a farm
land or garden?
[5 marks]
QUESTION 3

A. i. Define Trespass to Land. What and whom does the tort seek to protect?
[10 marks]
ii. In order to establish the tort of trespass, what are the elements which need to be
proven? With the aid of relevant authorities, briefly discuss these elements.
[10 marks]
B. With the aid of relevant authorities, provide concise answers explaining whether or not
the following scenarios constitute False Imprisonment.
Scenario 1
Kwame blocks the road in front of his house because he is having a “gbonyo party” with
his family and friends. There is another exit on the other side which could be used by
drivers but it has is a gaping pothole which has the potential to damage saloon-type
vehicles. His neighbour, Yaw, wants to drive out and begins to complain.
[10 marks]
Scenario 2
Mr. and Mrs. Parker got into a heated argument in their apartment on the 8 th floor of their
building, which is along a busy road in the city center. In a fit of rage, Mrs. Parker walks
out, locks the only door which leads into their apartment and takes the key with her. All
the windows are opened and some workers are working on the 7 th and 8th floor on
scaffolds outside the windows.
[10 marks]

C. George often likes to go out drinking with friends but his wife vehemently opposes this
habit. George hatched a plan with his good friend, James, and agreed that James would
visit him and narrate a fine tale involving another of their close friends who had
supposedly been severely injured in an accident. Further, James would add that both
himself and George had to rush to the hospital because their friend had no close family or
relatives. This was to enable George to get out of the house so that he could go drinking
with his buddies. The day came and James carried out their devious plan. However,

4
 George did not remember their prior discussion because of a medical condition of
occasional amnesia (memory loss). When James broke the news to him in the presence of
his wife, he had a nervous breakdown and this in turn also had an adverse effect on his
wife.

i. With the aid of relevant authorities, determine whether or not any torts can be
established against James and George.
[10 marks]
The Kowalskis and the Amponsahs were neighbours in a low-lying area surrounded by
Hills. They both suffered flooding after heavy downpours which flowed from the hills.
The Kowalskis, in order to curtail this situation, built gutters on their land to divert the
course of the water and thus prevent their estate from being flooded. The Amponsahs
however, lived lower downhill and took no precautionary measures to mitigate their
situation and so their house continued to get flooded. They have brought an action
against the Kowalskis, alleging the diversion they created has allowed an excess flow of
water into the watercourse, thereby causing even more flooding to their land.
ii. With the aid of relevant authorities, discuss any tortious liabilities that could be
established against the Kowalskis.
[10 marks]