Facts
The 1st Respondent, a domestic air carrier, operated an aircraft, McDonnell Douglas MD-84 with registration number 5N-RAM. On 3rd June 2012, the 1st Respondent contracted to convey a certain Mrs. Oluwatosin Ibironke Anibaba, the wife of the Appellant, from Abuja to Lagos on flight 9J-992. At approximately 3:35 pm, the aircraft crashed in the lju-Ishaga area of Lagos State, resulting in the death of all the 153 passengers on board, including Mrs. Anibaba. The Appellant, the personal representative of the deceased and her husband, alleged that the crash was caused by the negligence of the deceased pilot, Mr. Peter Simon Waxton, whose personal representative is the second Respondent. He subsequently instituted an action on 30th May 2014 seeking extensive reliefs spanning funeral expenses, loss of personal belongings, loss of earnings, dependency claims, predeath pain and suffering, and posthumous loss of companionship, among others. The monetary claim was for several millions of Naira and United States Dollars. On 20th February 2020, the Federal High Court awarded the Appellant the sum of US$61,000.00, along with a post-judgement interest of 10% per annum, rejecting many of the other reliefs sought based on insufficient evidence or lack of legal basis.
Dissatisfied with the judgement, the Appellant appealed to the Court of Appeal, which court partially allowed the appeal, revising upward the awards for pain, suffering, and loss of companionship to a total of US$250,000.00. However, it ordered that the naira equivalent be calculated at the exchange rate prevailing as of the date of the cause of action being 3rd June 2012. The Appellant further appealed to the Supreme Court and the Respondent cross-appealed, challenging certain aspects of the judgement of the Court of Appeal.
