Lagos-based firm, Mcdonald Scientific Emporium Limited (MSEL), has gone to a Lagos High Court seeking to recover its alleged missing Deed of Assignment (Title Document), registered as No. 16 at Page 16 in Volume 2180 of the Land Registry Office of Lagos from Access Bank Plc
The claimant accused the bank of refusing to return the document after several attempts were made to retrieve it.
The claimant also averred that the continued withholding of the document has hindered its access to credit facilities from other banks.
It said it had always financed its business transactions with credit facilities obtained from banks in Nigeria.
The claimant said an offer letter dated September 15, 2008, by Intercontinental Bank Plc (now Access Bank) approved the extension of a term loan facility to it.
The offer letter required security for the loan, which included but not limited to a legal mortgage on property located at Plot 152 Raymond Iromaka Close by Festac/Amuwo Odofin Bridge, Amuwo Odofin, Lagos covered by Deed of Assignment registered as No. 16 at Page 16 in Volume 2180 of the Land Registry Office in Lagos. The said property is owned by, and is registered in the claimant’s name.
Claimant said it accepted the offer and thereafter deposited the original title document with the defendant being a condition precedent for drawing down the facility.
According to the claimant, in another bid to raise the sum of N64,944,306.84, it approached First City Monument Bank Ltd (FCMB) to seek a loan facility.
By a letter dated 29th August, 2014, FCMB offered the Claimant a takeover loan facility. By virtue of the takeover loan, FCMB was to lend the Claimant some amount of money for two purposes to wit: To finance the replenishment of Claimant’s stock in preparation for the massive annual sales of August and September 2014 and to liquidate the claimant’s total outstanding indebtedness to the defendant as at that date using the claimant’s title deed deposited with the defendant as security for the loan.
The claimant stated that due to the defendant’s negligence, failure and/or deliberate refusal to release the said title documents to FCMB, FCMB was constrained to withdraw the said offer letter for loan.
It is, therefore, praying the court to hold that the original Deed of Assignment is in the defendant’s possession.
The claimant sought a declaration that the defendant’s failure, refusal and/or negligence to respond to First City Monument Bank’s letter dated 17th November 2014 by confirming to FCMB that the Claimant’s original title document is in the defendant’s possession (so as to enable FCMB liquidate Claimant’s N9,409,089.45 debt to defendant) amounted to negligence and breach of the defendant’s fiduciary obligation and duty of care to the Claimant.
It also prayed for an order compelling the defendant to immediately produce the original Deed of Assignment and hand it over to the claimant immediately and an order compelling the defendant to pay special damages to the claimant in the sum of N82, 599,386.92 being loss of income/profit suffered by the Claimant as a result of the defendant’s failure, refusal and/or negligence to confirm to FCMB that Claimant’s original Deed of Assignment is in the Defendant’s possession.
In its defence, Access Bank said: “ The said title document registered as No 85 in Volume 77 at Federal Lands Registry in the office at Lagos deposited as security for the loan granted by the bank was returned to the claimant Mcdonald with a Deed of Release which was issued in the claimant’s favour.”
The defendant also claimed that the Deed of Assignment which the claimant seemed to be relying upon as its title to the property which was executed between one Philip Kayode Olusegun Ojo and the claimant does not have any registration details as a Deed of Assignment duly registered as the Lagos State Lands Registry Alausa, Ikeja.
It, therefore, urged the court to ignore the claimant and strike out the suit for lacking in merit.
No date has been fixed for hearing.
