Bank to pay N75m damages for breach of contract

JUSTICE M. I. Onochie of Anambra State High
Court, Nnewi has ordered Union bank to pay its
customer, Innoson Nigeria Limited, an indigenous
business firm, the sum of N75 million as damages
for breach of contract.
The order of the court is contained in a judgment
delivered by Justice Onochie in a suit instituted
by Innoson Nigeria Ltd against the bank.
In his decision, the judge upheld the claims by
the plaintiff in the suit that the bank entered into
a contract with it in November 2008 for the
opening of Letter of Credit worth $805,430 for
the importation of component parts for the
completion of its automobile Manufacturing Plant
at Nnewi, but along the line, defaulted in
executing the contract in a way that made the
company suffer a lot of damages.
Justice Onochie therefore agreed with the
applicant and upheld its claims against the bank
in respect of negligence and defaulting in
executing the contract despite its undertaking to
do so.
However, while Innoson Nigeria Ltd was claiming
a total sum of N500 million as general damages,
the court reduced the amount to N75 million as it
concluded that, having regard to all the
circumstances of the case, the awarded amount
was enough compensation for the losses suffered
by the company as a result of the breach of
contract.
The court also awarded N30,000.00 cost in favour
of the plaintiff.