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Citation
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Judgment date
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| October 2015 |
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A review of a Registrar’s ex parte distress order was dismissed for being pursued under incorrect procedural provisions.
Civil procedure – Review of Registrar’s orders – Incorrect invocation of s.83 CPA and O.52 CPR; proper remedies are s.82 CPA and O.46 CPR, or O.9 r.27 (set aside ex parte) and O.50 r.8 (appeal). Article 126 does not permit flouting procedural rules.
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16 October 2015 |
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A bailiff who fraudulently under-declares execution sale proceeds must account to the court and beneficiaries.
* Execution law – sale in execution – duty of bailiff to declare true proceeds and account for sale.
* Civil Procedure Act s.34 – Court/Registrar jurisdiction to determine execution disputes and to investigate complaints arising from execution.
* Evidence Act s.106 – burden of proof where facts are especially within a party’s knowledge.
* Agency – a bailiff acts as agent of the Court while executing a warrant and is liable if he exceeds or abuses his authority.
* Bank records and joint account dealings as evidence of collusion to under-declare proceeds.
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14 October 2015 |
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Court granted a conditional stay of execution of a maintenance order pending appeal, imposing partial payment and security.
Civil procedure – stay of execution – discretionary relief; appeal alone not sufficient for stay; maintenance orders – arrears for necessities; security for due performance; balancing respondent’s need and risk of dissipation.
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2 October 2015 |
| September 2015 |
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Attachment of land not specified as collateral in a consent mortgage order was unlawful against the applicant.
Civil procedure – execution of consent decree – scope of mortgage and collateral – unlawful attachment of land not specified in loan agreement; compliance with O.22 r.51 mandatory for attachment of immovable property.
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11 September 2015 |
| May 2015 |
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A distress for rent after tenancy termination is unlawful and a Registrar lacks statutory authority to issue levy certificates.
* Distress for rent – requires subsisting landlord-tenant relationship; distress unlawful after tenancy termination. * Statutory authority – only a Chief Magistrate or Magistrate Grade I may issue certificates to authorize bailiffs under the Distress for Rent (Bailiffs) Act; a Registrar lacks that power. * Eviction – owner may lawfully evict trespassers using reasonable force. * Remedies – unlawful distress requires return of seized goods or compensation; nominal damages and costs recoverable.
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25 May 2015 |
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Distress was unlawful after tenancy ended and the Registrar Execution had no jurisdiction to issue the distress certificate.
Distress for rent – permissibility only while landlord-tenant relationship subsists; Registrar Execution lacks statutory power to issue distress certificates (power vested in Chief Magistrate or Magistrate Grade I); unlawful distress remedies – return of goods, nominal damages and costs; eviction of former tenant as trespasser lawful.
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25 May 2015 |
| March 2015 |
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Objector with documentary lease and development had legal possession; property released from attachment and sale stayed.
Execution — Objection to attachment — Determination hinges on who was in possession at attachment; objector in own possession merits release. Evidence — Admissibility of affidavits by non-parties when relied on by a party. Property law — Expired lease does not necessarily extinguish lessee’s equitable interest where lessee developed the land. Civil Procedure — Order 22 r.57: release of property from attachment where objector had possession in own right.
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13 March 2015 |
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A garnishee order was set aside because the applicant received only three days' notice, breaching Order 23 r1(3).
* Civil procedure – garnishee proceedings – requirement of at least seven days' service of order nisi (Order 23 r.1(3)) – non‑compliance renders order vulnerable to setting aside; * Registrar’s powers – recalling a warrant vs. setting aside or forbidding enforcement of a garnishee order absolute; * Time limits as substantive law – strict compliance required.
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6 March 2015 |
| February 2015 |
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A distress-for-rent certificate cannot be used to evict non-tenants or those claiming proprietary rights; certificate set aside.
Execution law – Distress for rent – certificate of levy – requires clear landlord–tenant relationship and proof of rent default; execution against non‑possessors or non‑tenants is unlawful; courts may investigate and set aside illegal execution despite procedural service objections; disputed proprietary rights must be determined by substantive civil proceedings.
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24 February 2015 |
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An objector in proprietary possession who purchased the land can obtain release from attachment despite an ex parte eviction order against the respondent.
Execution – Objection to attachment; Possession as critical inquiry—whether judgment debtor or third-party in possession; Distinction between possession on own account and possession in trust; Evidence of proprietary right (sale agreement, LC endorsements) as basis for release from attachment; Effect of ex parte decree on third-party purchasers.
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23 February 2015 |
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A Registrar’s consent settlement made without the applicant’s authority can be set aside and is reviewable by a High Court judge.
* Civil procedure – Review of Registrar’s orders – High Court jurisdiction to review consent settlements entered by Registrar. * Consent settlements – Authority of counsel to bind client – setting aside unauthorized settlements. * Execution – Registrar’s lack of power to vary trial decrees; bailiff’s entitlement to costs only after performing duties and taxation of bill.
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20 February 2015 |
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A consent decree binds all defendants and is enforceable absent a court-ordered stay, notwithstanding non-signature claims.
Execution – consent decree – binding effect on all defendants including alleged non-signatories; Appeal without stay does not suspend execution; Registrar of Execution obliged to enforce valid court orders; Persistent baseless objections may constitute abuse of process.
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6 February 2015 |
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An executing court cannot add non-parties or vary a consent decree; 27% interest is simple and unsigned affidavits are invalid.
Execution of consent judgment; joinder of non-party at execution stage; limits of executing court (cannot vary decree or add parties); unsigned affidavit invalid; interest in consent judgment is simple (27% p.a.); burden to prove caveats not withdrawn.
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6 February 2015 |
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A consent order limited to claims in a specific suit does not bar execution of separate decretal costs arising later.
Consent order interpretation; scope limited to specified suit; execution—decree nisi enforceable for separate decretal claims; costs awarded in later proceedings not extinguished by earlier consent order.
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4 February 2015 |
| January 2015 |
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A Registrar Execution must strictly execute a clear decree; title cancellations are for the Registrar of Titles, and post-judgment possession may be contempt.
Execution of decrees – scope and powers of Registrar Execution – must execute decree strictly; where decree is unclear refer back to trial court or judge – Registrar Execution cannot cancel or order delivery of certificates of title (Registrar of Titles’ statutory duty) – injunctions are for trial court – established possession and bona fide occupancy in judgment and confirmed on appeal – post-judgment adverse possession may constitute contempt.
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15 January 2015 |