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Citation
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Judgment date
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| May 2013 |
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Contractual interest enforced and general damages awarded where defendants admitted liability in a summary suit.
Civil procedure – Summary suit (Order 36 CPR) – Judgment on admission where defendants admit liability; Contractual interest – enforcement of agreed 19% p.a. unless harsh or unconscionable (s.26 Civil Procedure Act); General damages for loss of use and distress – assessment as percentage of judgment with interest; Costs – follow the event (s.27(2) Civil Procedure Act).
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31 May 2013 |
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Whether official correspondence can revive a time‑barred informer’s claim and whether informer proved causal link to tax recoveries.
Limitation — revival of time‑barred cause by official correspondence; Informant rewards — proof of informer status and causal link between information and tax recovery; Evidentiary burden — need for direct evidence connecting information to specific tax recoveries.
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31 May 2013 |
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Joint-tenanted land cannot be attached or sold in execution to satisfy only one co-owner’s personal debt; attachment and sale set aside.
Land law – Joint tenancy – Attachment in execution – Whether joint tenant’s interest is liable to attachment for co-tenant’s personal debt; requisites for release from attachment under Order 22 Rules 55–57; sale in execution not absolute until full purchase price paid (s.49 Civil Procedure Act); inoperative/mis-executed mortgage deeds; collateral disputes (consent/forgery) to be determined in separate proceedings.
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31 May 2013 |
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Defendant liable for unpaid valid certificate; delay damages waived; architect’s irregular certificates not basis for indemnity.
Construction contracts – practical completion certificates – defects liability period; waiver and estoppel by acceptance and occupation; validity and timing of architect’s payment certificates; unjust enrichment for benefit retained; liquidated damages claim not certified and waived; no indemnity from supervisor despite irregular certification.
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31 May 2013 |
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An Air Waybill 'PP' endorsement is not proof of payment; the defendant liable for unpaid freight with interest and costs.
• Carriage of goods – freight charges – Air Waybill – endorsement 'PP' (prepaid) is not proof of payment; Air Waybill is not a receipt. • Evidence – burden of proof in civil claims – party alleging non‑payment must prove receipt of payment; accounting records and invoices can establish unpaid balance. • Commercial accounts – agreed credit limit v. practical variation – extension of credit can bind parties by conduct. • Restitution/quasi‑contract – recovery for benefit unjustly retained. • Remedies – judgment for unpaid freight, interest and costs.
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29 May 2013 |
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A prior consent decree and order on the same property barred a fresh challenge; fraud allegations were inadequately pleaded.
* Civil procedure – Res judicata – Section 7 Civil Procedure Act – matters directly and substantially in issue in a former suit bar a subsequent suit.
* Consent judgments and orders – effect and finality – consent orders equivalent to judgments and only challengeable on limited grounds (e.g., illegality) when properly pleaded.
* Privity – successors in title/purchasers may plead res judicata where they claim under original parties.
* Pleading fraud – allegations of fraud require specific pleading with particulars and strict proof.
* Estoppel/approbation and reprobation – party who accepted sale under prior order is estopped from later contesting it.
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28 May 2013 |
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Mortgagee lawfully sold mortgaged property after mortgagor’s default; employer did not breach the staff loan contract.
* Mortgage law – power of sale – mortgagee may sell without court where mortgage deed so provides and statutory notices are given (RTA ss.116–117; Mortgage Act). * Contract distinction – staff loan facility is separate from employment; termination is not necessarily breach of loan contract. * Default and notice – demand and assignment to recovery trust created enforceable default. * Valuation – a sale will not be set aside where valuation and sale price fall within an acceptable margin of error and mortgagee acts in good faith.
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28 May 2013 |
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Importer lawfully licensed by Minister and bona fide purchaser; plaintiff failed to prove trade mark infringement or passing off.
* Trade marks – infringement and passing off – burden of proof rests on plaintiff to prove counterfeit or misrepresentation; expert evidence may be necessary. * Statutory/licensing defence – importation under a ministerial licence (S.I. No.23/2011) can insulate a bona fide importer from trade mark infringement claims. * Proper defendant – challenge to ministerial licence should be against the state (Minister/Attorney General), not a bona fide importer. * Remedies – where infringement/passing off not proved, injunctions, delivery-up/destruction and account of profits are refused.
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24 May 2013 |
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Court granted summary judgment for the admitted sum and allowed leave to defend the disputed balance of the claim.
Civil procedure – summary judgment – application for leave to appear and defend – partial admission of liability – triable issue on part of claim – decree for admitted sum under O.36 r 6 of Civil Procedure Rules.
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23 May 2013 |
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Default judgment set aside for ineffective service; defendants granted leave to defend and prisoner released.
Civil procedure – service of summons – service on third party/agent – burden to prove authority to accept service; Setting aside ex parte/default judgment under Order 9 r.12; Affidavits and hearsay – admissibility of correspondence; Execution of decree and release from civil prison; Requirement (or not) of affidavit stating failure to file defence.
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22 May 2013 |
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Mortgagee lawfully exercised contractual power of sale; alleged undersale not proved and claim dismissed.
Mortgagee’s power of sale; effect of mortgage deed clauses dispensing notice and permitting private treaty sale; statutory notice under RTA ss.116–117; mortgagee’s duty of care and liability for undersale; admissibility and weight of competing valuations.
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17 May 2013 |
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The plaintiff's joint counsel was barred until filing a notice of joint instructions; advocate-as-witness objection was premature.
Advocates – Regulation 9 (Professional Conduct) – advocate as potential witness; requirement to cease acting if likely to give evidence – Notice of joint instructions – procedural requirement for accountability and taxation of costs – effect of failure to file notice – right of audience versus professional and procedural safeguards.
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14 May 2013 |
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Impounding lawful but disposal violated Fish Act; the respondent must compensate the applicants for seized fish.
Fish Act (s.30(c)) – seizure and disposal of perishable fish – authorised officer’s duty to sell and pay proceeds into court; distribution order ultra vires; deprivation of property where no conviction; state vicarious liability for wrongful disposal; assessment of compensation by Commissioner of Fisheries; interest and costs.
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14 May 2013 |
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Whether the applicant's challenge to an arbitral award was time‑barred where the award was read and filed before physical delivery.
* Arbitration – Setting aside award – Time limit under s.34(3) ACA – Date of receipt is date award read and filed, not later physical delivery. * Arbitration – Arbitrator's lien withholding award does not extend statutory limitation. * Procedure – Strict compliance with one‑month limitation; no built‑in extension unlike Indian Act. * Precedent – Roko Construction binding on time computation under ACA.
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13 May 2013 |
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Non-parties cannot be joined to a time-barred application challenging an arbitral award; only parties or those claiming through them have locus.
* Arbitration – time bar – section 34(3) ACA – application to set aside arbitral award must be made within one month of receipt of award; time‑bar renders application incompetent.
* Locus – parties to arbitration – definition of "party" under section 2(1)(i) ACA; third parties not claiming through/under a party lack locus to enforce or challenge award.
* Civil procedure – joinder – cannot join applicants to an application that is a nullity for being time‑barred.
* Precedent – Court of Appeal decision in Roko Construction Ltd applied.
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13 May 2013 |
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Finance lease entitles recovery of future rentals on repudiation; sale conducted in breach of Mortgage Act and while caveat/litigation pending was set aside.
Finance lease – construction of lease; repudiatory breach – recovery of future rentals; Mortgage Act – 60‑day notice for possession; appointment of receiver and sale by private treaty; caveat and registration — notice to caveator; bona fide purchaser doctrine; remedies – cancellation of transfer, mesne profits, damages.
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13 May 2013 |
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Guarantors held jointly and severally liable under executed guarantee deeds; judgment for principal, interest and costs.
Banking law – Guarantees – Validity and effect of guarantee deeds – Guarantor liable as primary obligor on principal’s default; joint and several liability; proof by documentary evidence; interest and costs awarded.
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13 May 2013 |
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Breach claim largely time-barred, but applicant entitled to unpaid fee note, nominal damages, interest and costs.
* Contracts – formation – offer, acceptance and performance; objective test for agreement.
* Public Procurement – PPDA Act (SI No.10 of 2003) not retrospective to contracts concluded in 2002.
* Limitation – cause of action for breach arises on failure to perform; three-year limitation bars delayed breach claims.
* Remedies – unpaid fee note recoverable; lost profits denied as time barred; interest and nominal damages awarded.
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10 May 2013 |
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Court dismissed the applicant's suit for want of prosecution and failure to comply with court-ordered amended pleadings.
Civil procedure – dismissal for want of prosecution – O.17 r.6(1) – prolonged inactivity; Failure to comply with court-ordered time for filing and serving amended pleadings; Adjournment procedure – adjournment cannot be sought by letter; Non-appearance at hearing – abuse of process.
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8 May 2013 |
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Registrar improperly taxed costs not awarded by court; decree quashed as to costs and execution set aside, omission corrected and costs awarded to respondent.
Civil procedure – Taxation of costs – Registrar exceeded jurisdiction by taxing costs not awarded by the judge; decree must accord with judgment; slip rule (s.99 CPA) can correct omissions; Registrars’ powers under Order 50 CPR to handle formal execution and notices to show cause; procedural safeguards before arrest in execution.
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7 May 2013 |
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Bank complying with a court order to transfer funds is not negligent and bears no civil liability to the customer.
Banking law – duty to customer; obedience to court orders; negligence – standard of care; liability where bank acts pursuant to judicial order; mitigation and remedies.
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3 May 2013 |
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Section 17 PWD tax relief was repealed; relief applies only from July 1, 2008 and is limited to income tax.
* Tax law – repeal of statutory tax relief – Section 17 Persons with Disabilities Act repealed by Income Tax (Amendment) (No.2) Act 2008.
* Statutory interpretation – taxing statutes construed strictly; no implication or equitable extension.
* Commencement – tax relief deemed to commence 1 July 2008 (normal year); substituted year effect for financial institutions from 1 January 2009.
* Scope of relief – deduction limited to income tax, not VAT, customs or excise duties.
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3 May 2013 |
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Court allowed most claims to proceed but stayed remedies affecting the bank’s liquidation and ordered the bank added as nominal defendant.
Stay of proceedings – discretionary case management; Constitutional Petition pending does not automatically stay related High Court proceedings; Derivative action – company must be made nominal defendant; Liquidation/takeover by central bank – liquidator may defend the company and limits enforcement of remedies; Stay limited to remedies affecting liquidation (register rectification, repossession of assets).
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2 May 2013 |
