Court adjourns Miss Ghana suit

Accra, July 25, GNA - An Accra Fast Track High Court on Tuesday adjourned to Thursday July 27 the hearing of the case in which Miss Ghana 2005, Ms Lamisi Mbillah is seeking to stop this year's Miss Ghana Pageant from coming off on Saturday July 29 until the organisers, Sparrow Productions Limited fulfilled their obligations to her. The Court had fixed July 31, 2006 for hearing, but Sparrows Productions Limited pleaded for the case to be brought forward so that the Pageant, scheduled for July 29, could come on.

Lamisi on Monday filed a writ at the Court seeking an order of interim injunction to restrain Sparrow Productions from organising the event.

The writ filed by Dr Raymond Atuguba has Ms Shirley Frimpong Manso, Chief Executive Officer of Sparrow Productions Limited; Ms Jayne Awoornor-Williams, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Sparrow Productions Limited and Sparrow Productions Limited, all of Accra, as Defendants. In an affidavit in support of her application, Ms Mbillah said when she won the Miss Ghana crown on 10 July 2005, she was promised a number of things as her prize by Sparrow Productions Limited.

It included a car; 10,000 dollars; travel tickets; monthly stipends; LG home appliances worth 20 million cedis; wardrobe and free make-up and skin therapy from FC Perfumery during her one-year reign. Relieves being sought by Ms Mbillah include a declaration that the prize car for Miss Ghana 2005, a Kia Rio saloon car with registration number GT 3282 W, is her property; an order compelling Sparrow Production Limited to transfer title of car to her; an order compelling the Company to pay her 10,000 dollars with interest to date and prize travel tickets consisting of Accra-London-Accra air ticket from Astraeus Airline.

She is also seeking one million cedis for the month of July; costs and any other relief as the Court might deem appropriate. She said on July 10, 2006, she asked her Lawyers to request from Sparrow Productions Limited its outstanding obligations as contained in the LG Miss Ghana Event brochure.

Miss Ghana 2005 said the Lawyers of Sparrow Productions Limited, however, wrote to her denying any liability to her.

Lawyers of Sparrow Productions Limited said Ms Mbillah refused to sign a contract as was required by the organisers, which contract spelt out the obligations as well as the rights of Miss Ghana.

"Indeed, because (Ms Mbilah) had failed to sign the said contract she did not feel obligated to respect the obligations such as making only public appearances as Miss Ghana, which have been sanctioned in advance by the organisers, which is contractually required of the holder of the Miss Ghana title/crown.

"You will no doubt agree that the brochure, which was issued for the Miss Ghana 2005 event cannot by any stretch of any imagination, no matter how vivid that imagination may be, be regarded as a legally enforceable obligation of whatever is contained therein. It is a document at large and cannot be the basis for your client to make any demands."

The Defendants said whatever Ms Mbillah had received from Sparrow Productions Limited to date had not been on the basis of any contractual obligation but based on their own goodwill towards her, which she had abused.

Ms Mbilla in her writ said her Lawyers petitioned the Minister of Tourism and Diasporean Relations to intervene and he accordingly organised a meeting at which Ms Manso and Ms Awoornor-Williams agreed to meet all their obligations to her.

"However, at a subsequent meeting between the Ministry and the parties, the respondent Company (Sparrow Productions Limited) acting by the said principal officers (Ms Manso and Ms Awoornor Williams) reneged on the said agreement with the Ministry and the agreement fell through."

Ms Mbillah said she was aware that some of the obligations of Sparrow Productions Limited to Miss Ghana 2004 had not yet been met and that there was a pending suit in the courts in which she was claiming some of her prize money and items.

She said she believed that unless the respondents were restrained from organising the Miss Ghana 2006 event, the respondents would assume obligations to the prospective Miss Ghana 2006 and might not be in a position to fulfil those due her.

The writ said; 93unless the respondents are restrained forthwith from organising the Miss Ghana 2006 Event, the respondents will assume greater financial and resource commitments to the prospective Miss Ghana 2006 and may be unable to settle their current commitments to me."

Ms Mbillah said that it was against public interest and public policy for Sparrow Productions Limited to consistently represent to various sponsors of the Miss Ghana Event and the public that they sought sponsorship for the purpose of presenting prizes to various winners of the event and neglect to do so.