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Citation
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Judgment date
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| January 2024 |
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31 January 2024 |
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An unsealed, untimely served notice of motion is invalid; application dismissed and counsel ordered to pay costs personally.
Civil procedure – Notice of Motion must be signed and sealed by court officer (Order 5 r.1(5)) – absence of court seal is a fundamental, incurable defect; Service of summons/applications must be effected within 21 days (Order 5 r.1(2)) – late service without extension invalidates proceedings; Court’s discretion to overlook procedural breaches not exercised where no satisfactory justification; Personal costs against counsel for procedural negligence.
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31 January 2024 |
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31 January 2024 |
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31 January 2024 |
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31 January 2024 |
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31 January 2024 |
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31 January 2024 |
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31 January 2024 |
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31 January 2024 |
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31 January 2024 |
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31 January 2024 |
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31 January 2024 |
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30 January 2024 |
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30 January 2024 |
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30 January 2024 |
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High Court stayed execution pending appeal where appeal was lodged, execution imminent, and government exempt from security.
Civil procedure – Stay of execution pending appeal – Requirements: notice of appeal, substantial loss, no unreasonable delay, security for due performance; High Court is court of first instance for stay applications; Government entities exempt from security; Imminent execution and protection of public service delivery.
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30 January 2024 |
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30 January 2024 |
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30 January 2024 |
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Recovery claim for land dismissed as time‑barred despite plaint and annexures disclosing a cause of action.
Land law – recovery of land – limitation period (12 years) – accrual on alleged eviction; pleadings – cause of action assessed from plaint and annexures; fraud exception to limitation must be pleaded with particulars; parties – agent v principal; remedy – time‑bar dismissal.
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30 January 2024 |
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30 January 2024 |
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A debtor's bankruptcy petition was dismissed for failure to comply with statutory publication and notice requirements.
* Insolvency law – individual bankruptcy petitions – compliance with Insolvency Act 2011 and Insolvency Regulations 2013 requirements; public notice (Regulation 13). * Procedural requirement – adequate publication and particulars (including bankruptcy number) necessary to enable interested persons to appear. * Failure to comply with statutory notice provisions warrants dismissal of petition. * Debtor permitted to refile if statutory requirements are met.
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29 January 2024 |
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29 January 2024 |
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29 January 2024 |
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Applicant granted leave to amend plaint to add contract particulars; amendment not mala fide or prejudicial.
Civil procedure – Amendment of pleadings – Order 6 Rule 19 CPR – Amendment permitted to determine real questions in controversy; must not cause injustice, be mala fide, or be barred by law; application to add particulars to same cause of action; costs awarded.
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29 January 2024 |
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An appeal abates where the sole respondent dies and no legal representative is joined under Order 24 Rule 4.
* Civil procedure – Abatement of proceedings on death of a sole party – Order 24 Rule 4 – Requirement to join legal representative – Failure to apply under Rule 4(1) results in abatement under Rule 4(3).
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29 January 2024 |
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Ignorance of appellate procedure by a lay litigant may excuse delay, but failure to serve the motion within prescribed time mandates dismissal.
Civil procedure – extension of time to file appeal – whether ignorance of appellate procedure by an unrepresented litigant constitutes sufficient cause – held can be sufficient in some circumstances; Civil procedure – mandatory service requirements – Order 5 Rule 1(2) C.P.R. – failure to serve within 21 days and failure to seek permitted extension attracts dismissal under Order 5 Rule 1(3); Interaction between merits-based discretion and strict procedural compliance.
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29 January 2024 |
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Court affirmed that a written 2008 agreement was a sale, not a loan, awarding refund, interest and damages to the respondent.
Contract law – written sale agreement – parol evidence rule/Evidence Act s91 – burden to invalidate written contract; appellate reappraisal of evidence; award of refund, general damages and interest for delay.
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29 January 2024 |
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Improperly conducted and unrecorded Locus in Quo caused miscarriage of justice; retrial ordered on disputed land ownership and trespass.
Civil procedure — land dispute — ownership and trespass; Locus in Quo — mandatory procedures and recording; failure to record Locus in Quo — miscarriage of justice; limitation — continuing tort (trespass) and Section 5 Limitation Act; locus standi — plaintiff’s capacity to sue; remedies — injunctions, damages and eviction absent counterclaim.
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29 January 2024 |
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25 January 2024 |
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25 January 2024 |
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25 January 2024 |
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25 January 2024 |
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25 January 2024 |
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25 January 2024 |
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25 January 2024 |
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25 January 2024 |
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25 January 2024 |
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25 January 2024 |
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Court quashed tribunal’s fair‑hearing finding after Appointments Board’s bias, disclosure and adjournment failures violated natural justice.
Administrative law – judicial review – exhaustion of internal remedies; University discipline – scope of Appointments Board under s.50(3) v. s.55 removal procedure; natural justice – bias/conflict of interest where complainant participates in deliberations; fair hearing – refusal of adjournment and non‑disclosure; applicability of Public Service Standing Orders to public universities; certiorari quashing Tribunal’s finding.
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25 January 2024 |
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25 January 2024 |
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25 January 2024 |
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24 January 2024 |
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Defendant in possession but unpaid was ordered to pay adjusted balance, damages, interest and costs; counterclaim dismissed.
Contract law – sale of land – breach for non-payment of purchase price; specific performance as discretionary equitable remedy; calculation of adjusted balance where acreage differs from contract; counterclaim for defective title and compensation for improvements dismissed.
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24 January 2024 |
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Administrator failed to show prima facie case or irreparable harm; temporary injunction rightly refused and appeal dismissed.
* Land law – temporary injunction – requirements: prima facie case, irreparable injury, balance of convenience; * Possession vs ownership – significance in injunction applications; * Effect of sale and registration on administrator’s challenge; * Approbation and reprobation – estoppel of administrator challenging prior sale; * Appellate duty to re-appraise evidence even where appeal proceeds ex parte.
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24 January 2024 |
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24 January 2024 |
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Court appointed the father guardian of two minors, finding it in their best interests to rectify and transfer land titles.
Guardianship – appointment of legal guardian to enable rectification/transfer of minors' interest in land; Children Act – child's welfare paramount; ex parte guardianship application; suitability of biological parent as guardian.
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23 January 2024 |
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The applicant's leave to appeal was dismissed as time‑barred under the Court of Appeal Rules for failing to seek an extension.
* Civil procedure — Leave to appeal — Rule 40(1)(a) Judicature (Court of Appeal Rules) S.I.13-10 — 14‑day time limit for leave to appeal from High Court to Court of Appeal.
* Time computation — Order 51 rule 2 Civil Procedure Rules — electronic filing and calculation of days.
* Procedural remedies — application for extension of time/omnibus application required where leave filed late.
* Preliminary objection — timeliness of application can be decisive and lead to dismissal without costs orders.
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23 January 2024 |
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23 January 2024 |
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Appellate court allowed appeal, finding trial magistrate wrongly relied on an uncertified record and ignored appellant’s documentary and witness evidence.
* Civil procedure – appeal – duty of first appellate court to re-appraise evidence and allow for not having seen witnesses.
* Procedure – Order 43 r.2 CPR – grounds of appeal must be concise; argumentative grounds liable to be struck out.
* Evidence – parties bound by pleadings; material departure from pleadings justifies rejection of evidence.
* Local forums – LC1/LC3 proceedings and estoppel/forum shopping where a party submitted to those forums and lost.
* Proof – weight of documentary recognition by registered proprietor and inadmissibility/unreliability of uncertified records and incorrectly applied injunctions.
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23 January 2024 |
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23 January 2024 |