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Flexibility of Damages for Conversion and Detinue

Flexibility of Damages for Conversion and Detinue REMIGIUS N. NWABUEZE∗ and POLYCARP C. OKORIE ∗∗ I. INTRODUCTION Hard cases test the virility of principles as well as the creativity of judges. So it was in Civil Design Construction Nig. Ltd v SCOA Nig. Ltd.1 recently decided by the Supreme Court of Nigeria. CDC v SCOA is attractive for its refreshing interpretation of the rarely litigated Hire Purchase Act2 and its application of the common law rules for the award of damages for conversion and detinue.3 On a deeper analysis, however, CDC v SCOA dramatises the sterility of a mechanistic approach to legal principles and the potentially ruinous consequences of such an approach for the victim of a tortfessor. From a comparative perspective, CDC v SCOA raises problems that are common to most common law systems, though these problems are more acutely expressed in legal systems that are characterised by high rates of inflation (as in many developing countries). The problems relate to the proper assessment of damages for conversion and detinue: should the emphasis be on the measure of damages based on the value of the subject matter at a particular point in time4 or should the emphasis be on the need to put the http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png African Journal of International and Comparative Law Edinburgh University Press

Flexibility of Damages for Conversion and Detinue

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Publisher
Edinburgh University Press
Copyright
© Edinburgh University Press 2009
Subject
African Studies
ISSN
0954-8890
eISSN
1755-1609
DOI
10.3366/E0954889009000309
Publisher site
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Abstract

REMIGIUS N. NWABUEZE∗ and POLYCARP C. OKORIE ∗∗ I. INTRODUCTION Hard cases test the virility of principles as well as the creativity of judges. So it was in Civil Design Construction Nig. Ltd v SCOA Nig. Ltd.1 recently decided by the Supreme Court of Nigeria. CDC v SCOA is attractive for its refreshing interpretation of the rarely litigated Hire Purchase Act2 and its application of the common law rules for the award of damages for conversion and detinue.3 On a deeper analysis, however, CDC v SCOA dramatises the sterility of a mechanistic approach to legal principles and the potentially ruinous consequences of such an approach for the victim of a tortfessor. From a comparative perspective, CDC v SCOA raises problems that are common to most common law systems, though these problems are more acutely expressed in legal systems that are characterised by high rates of inflation (as in many developing countries). The problems relate to the proper assessment of damages for conversion and detinue: should the emphasis be on the measure of damages based on the value of the subject matter at a particular point in time4 or should the emphasis be on the need to put the

Journal

African Journal of International and Comparative Law – Edinburgh University Press

Published: Mar 1, 2009

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