Court orders Guinness Ghana to declare profit on promotion
A Fast Track High Court has given Guinness Ghana Breweries Limited (GGBL) one month to file accounts of profits earned from the “Guinness Football Challenge Promotion and TV Show.”
Filing of the profits, however, should be at the end of the promotion.
The court further ordered that the copies of the accounts should be served on the National Lotto Authority (NLA).
“The court, having refused an injunction which involves the making of profit, ordered the defendants to keep accounts of all profits made pending the trial of the right to ensure that the plaintiff would be adequately compensated if the plaintiff becomes victorious after trial,” it said.
The order was made after the court had refused to grant an application for injunction filed by the NLA against the GGBL.
The NLA had gone to court to seek a declaration that the GGBL’s promotion dubbed; “Guinness Football Challenge Promotion and TV Show” was not a promotion but in fact and in law a lottery within the meaning of the NLA Act of 206, Act 722.
According to the NLA the GGBL’s promotion had all the elements and attributes of a lottery under the common law and is in breach of the lotto Act.
NLA was therefore seeking an order to the GGBL to account for all proceeds and payments received by them from participating subscribers of the promotion from April 14 this year to June 23, this year.
The Authority was also praying the court for a permanent injunction restraining GGBL’s agents, servants, privies and workers from promoting, sponsoring and marketing its promotion.
It was also seeking general and special damages, cost and other relief the court may deem fit.
Touching on the reasons for refusing the application, the court noted that the GGBL would suffer greater hardship if the application was granted.
According to the court “the inconvenience that the defendant will suffer exceeds that of the plaintiff and under such circumstances, it would be just or convenient to refuse the application for the injunction”.
Furthermore the court noted that it would not serve any useful purpose if the GGBL was restrained and the promotion came into abeyance when it had only a few weeks to expire.
The court added that the injury that the participants of the promotion would suffer if the GGBL was restrained would be immeasurable.
Source: GNA