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.