Supreme Court Resonates the Position of the Law Pertaining to the Core Principles of Statute‑Barred Actions
We are delighted to have successfully represented the Respondent in an appeal filed at the Supreme Court by natives of an indigenous community in Rivers State, Nigeria wherein the apex court affirmed our submissions, bringing the much-needed certainty to this area of law.
Background Facts:
This was a civil appeal against the Judgment of the Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt Division that set aside the Judgment of the High Court of Rivers State delivered in favour of the Appellants (then Claimants).
The Claimants (who were the Appellants at the Supreme Court) had instituted an action against the Respondent at the Rivers State High Court claiming title of the four (4) acres of land situate in their community, as well as damages for trespass and compensation. They claimed that the Respondent illegally acquired the said land after they only gave the Respondent an easement/gas pipeline right of way for the land and nothing more, and that contrary to the terms of acquisition, the compensation receipt and indemnity document, the Respondent embarked on other activities such as building and installation of metering station, fencing off of the said land with barbed wire and construction of caravan as security post and gate.
The Respondent argued that it acquired the said land and other adjourning lands from the Appellants and other families legally, for the purpose of laying its gas pipelines and carrying out its business, and that it paid due compensation to them.
The Rivers State High Court entered Judgement in their favour to the tune of N150, 000, 000. 00 with pre-judgement interest of N4,000,000.00 per annum from the year 1998 to 2017.
Upon representation of the Respondent (then Appellant) at the Court of Appeal, the crux of our argument was that the suit at the High Court was even statute barred having been filed thirteen (13) years after the cause of action arose. Notwithstanding the fact that the cause of action in this suit accrued sometimes in the year 1997, the Appellants filed the writ of summons initiating this suit in the year 2010, over 13 years after the accrual of the cause of action.
Section 1 of the Limitation Law, Cap 80 of Rivers State explicitly provides that an action by a person relating to land shall not be brought after the expiration of 10 years from the date on which the cause of action accrued to the person bringing it. In other words, any action in respect to land within Rivers State that is instituted after 10 years from the date the cause of action arose or accrued is statute barred, and robs the Court of the jurisdiction to adjudicate upon same.
The Court of Appeal agreed with our argument on statute bar and consequently allowed the appeal. The Claimants (as Appellants) then lodged this appeal at the Supreme Court.
Judgement:
In dismissing the appeal and upholding the Judgement of the Court of Appeal, the Apex Court particularly held that: “the reasoning of the court below is unassailable
and was right to have held that the trial court had no jurisdiction to have entertained and determined the suit that was instituted outside the ten (10) year period as provided by S. 1 of the Limitation Law of Rivers State and therefore statute barred. The decision of the trial court is a nullity. The court below rightly allowed the appeal. The action being statute barred ought not to have been heard and determined by the trial court.”
Comment: This decision reinforces the firm legal stance that a statute-barred action extinguishes a claimant’s legal right to judicial relief and automatically strips the court of its fundamental jurisdiction to hear and determine the case. Once the time allowed by a limitation law expires, the suit becomes LEGALLY DEAD ON ARRIVAL and cannot be revived.
Granville Abibo & Co
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