|
Citation
|
Judgment date
|
| November 2023 |
|
|
Eviction granted to enforce execution after respondent failed to comply with conditional UGX 45,000,000 stay requirement.
Execution of decrees – conditional stay of execution – non-compliance with deposit condition – execution triggered; abuse of process by filing subsequent appeals after execution commenced; eviction to facilitate execution; court’s discretion under Section 98 Civil Procedure Act and modes of execution under Section 38.
|
30 November 2023 |
|
Liability for crop damage upheld but quantum reduced because the valuation report was not tendered as evidence.
Civil procedure – Evidence – Documents marked for identification only – such documents are not admissible evidence until formally produced and exhibited. Special damages – must be specifically pleaded and proved; valuation reports must be tendered and proved. Appeal – appellate interference with damages permitted where trial court acted on irrelevant or inadmissible material. Tort – trespass/damage by cattle – liability established on balance of probabilities.
|
30 November 2023 |
|
A review application is incompetent where the same party has already lodged a pending appeal against the judgment.
Civil procedure – Review of judgment – Section 82 CPA and Order 46 Rules – Competence of review where appellant has filed notice of appeal – Review survives only if filed before appeal or where non-applicant raises matters not covered by appeal – Strike out for want of jurisdiction.
|
30 November 2023 |
|
Judicial review application dismissed as time-barred for failing to seek leave or plead exceptions within three months.
Judicial review — Limitation period under Section 36(7) Judicature Act and Rule 5(1) Judicial Review Rules — Applications must be made within three months unless court extends time — Failure to plead exceptions or seek leave renders application time-barred.
|
30 November 2023 |
|
Plaintiff failed to prove ownership of untitled land; trespass claim dismissed and land declared belonging to the 1st defendant.
Land law – unregistered land – purchaser’s heightened duty to prove vendor’s title – need for vendor testimony to establish chain of title. Possession and trespass – claimant must prove actual or constructive possession to sustain trespass claim. Evidence – balance of probabilities; absence of pre-1993 acquisition evidence undermines ownership claim. Communal/public land – historic communal use (dip tank) relevant to ownership and possession findings. Remedies – dismissal of claim, declaration of defendant’s ownership and permanent injunction; costs ordered each party to bear their own costs.
|
30 November 2023 |
|
A false averment in an affidavit can be severed and a dismissed suit reinstated if sufficient cause is shown.
Civil procedure – reinstatement of suit dismissed under Order 5 – discretion to reinstate and factors constituting sufficient cause. Affidavits – false averments severable; defective parts may be struck out while leaving curative remainder. Courts to adopt liberal approach to curable defects in affidavits to promote substantive justice.
|
30 November 2023 |
|
Court quantified and enforced university-fee arrears and academic requirements as consequential orders, declining unproven school-fee claims.
Civil procedure – consequential orders – definition, purpose and test for grant. Family law – enforcement of parental maintenance orders – quantification of university tuition, academic requirements and arrears. Evidence – sufficiency of supporting documents and proof of payments in enforcement applications. Enforcement – payment within fixed time and execution on default.
|
30 November 2023 |
|
The plaintiffs' representative action was struck out for failing to obtain mandatory court leave under Order 1 rule 8.
Civil procedure – Representative suit – Order 1 r.8 CPR – mandatory leave to sue on behalf of others – failure to obtain leave renders suit incompetent and incurable. Civil procedure – Pleading requirements – necessity to disclose steps taken and to identify persons represented; notice/publication requirements. Points of law – may be raised at any stage of proceedings.
|
30 November 2023 |
|
Court overruled defendant’s preliminary objections, finding pleadings timely, sufficiently particularised and disclosing a cause of action, with costs to plaintiff.
Civil procedure – service of written statement of defence – failure to serve within 15 days; Limitation Act – time when cause of action arises; Defamation – requirement to plead words and particulars; Cause of action – sufficiency of pleadings to disclose arguable claim.
|
30 November 2023 |
|
Court set aside dismissal for want of prosecution despite absent medical proof, finding director's authority presumed and interests of justice prevailed.
Civil procedure – reinstatement under Order 9 r.23 – "sufficient cause" to set aside dismissal for want of prosecution; illness as sufficient cause requires evidence. Company law – authority to sue – whether a board resolution is mandatory; directors presumed to have authority and may depose affidavits under Order 29 r.1. Discretion – court may set aside dismissal in interests of justice despite lack of evidential proof if no prejudice or inordinate delay.
|
13 November 2023 |
|
Administrator’s death rendered prior letters inoperative; court revoked earlier grant and confirmed the applicants’ grant.
Succession law – Revocation of letters of administration – Section 234 Succession Act – Grant rendered inoperative by administrator’s death – Letters abate on death and cannot be inherited – Validity of subsequent grant of administration.
|
13 November 2023 |
|
Consequential orders must be sought against the same parties as the original judgment; non-parties cannot be ordered to pay costs.
Civil procedure – Consequential orders; requirements for consequential orders: (i) existing final judgment; (ii) same parties bound by that judgment; (iii) orders sought directly connected to judgment; (iv) application to the court that made the judgment; application against non-parties is improper.
|
13 November 2023 |
|
Judicial review of a salary reduction dismissed as premature for failure to exhaust Public Service grievance remedies.
Judicial review – time limit – three months runs from date decision taken/communicated. Judicial review – amenability – requirement to exhaust alternative administrative remedies under Rule 7A and Public Service Standing Orders. Public service – salary determination – competence of Permanent Secretary and circulars; courts reluctant to substitute administrative salary decisions. Exceptions to exhaustion (fundamental rights, failure of natural justice, lack of jurisdiction) are available but not shown to apply.
|
13 November 2023 |
|
Valid will survives family resolution; testamentary trust terminated but administrators’ grant not revoked; accounts and distribution ordered.
Succession law – validity and effect of a will vs family resolution; testamentary trust termination by beneficiaries; administrators’ duty to exhibit inventory and account within six months; willfulness standard for annulment of grant; material accuracy of inventory; equitable modification/termination of testamentary trust.
|
13 November 2023 |
|
Whether the respondent is a spouse entitled to an intestate share and the child's paternity should be determined by DNA.
Succession law – intestate succession – spouse definition – church marriage – entitlement to intestate share; Section 30 Succession Act – separation and disqualification – temporal/permanent separation; Proof of paternity – DNA testing to determine beneficiary status; Burden of proof – balance of probabilities.
|
13 November 2023 |
|
|
13 November 2023 |
|
Plaintiffs failed to prove the land was part of the intestate estate; claims for cancellation and damages dismissed.
Succession law – Whether property forms part of an intestate estate; requirement that letters' petition list estate properties; burden of proof on claimant; failure to prove ownership defeats claims for cancellation of title and related remedies.
|
13 November 2023 |
|
|
6 November 2023 |