Court grants injunction to dealers

Accra, Jan. 24 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.