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Citation
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Judgment date
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| November 2016 |
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Application for temporary injunction to restrain administrators dismissed for lack of evidence of threatened alienation or irreparable harm.
Civil procedure – interlocutory injunction – requirements of prima facie case, preservation of status quo, irreparable injury, and balance of convenience; Letters of Administration – effect on status quo; burden of evidencing alleged risk of alienation of estate assets.
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23 November 2016 |
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Grant of administration upheld; no fraud proved; plaintiffs not dependants; defendant ordered to file inventory and accounts.
Succession law – validity of foreign (Indian/Sikh) marriage – proof and admissibility of marriage certificates; Letters of administration – advertising, caveats and proper grant to widow; Dependants – requirement to prove whole or substantial dependence under Succession Act; Revocation of grant – necessity to show fraud or willful omission to exhibit inventory/accounts; Court’s inherent and equitable powers to require filing of inventory and accounts to protect estate.
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14 November 2016 |
| October 2016 |
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Court held respondent incapacitated by mental illness and appointed her mother manager with bond, reporting and transaction restrictions.
Administration of Estates of Persons of Unsound Mind Act – necessity of judicial inquiry and medical evidence before appointing a manager; capacity assessment; substituted versus supported decision-making; appointment of relative as manager with bond, reporting and restrictions.
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13 October 2016 |
| September 2016 |
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Review allowed where a clerical error in the plaint caused a time‑bar dismissal, reinstating the main suit.
Civil procedure – Review under Section 82 Civil Procedure Act and Order 46 CPR – Error apparent on the face of the record – Clerical/typographical error in plaint as to date – Limitation issue – Reinstatement of plaint and hearing on merits.
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21 September 2016 |
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High Court upheld 70:30 equitable division of matrimonial property after valuers’ dispute and locus inspection.
* Family law – divorce – division of matrimonial property – assessment of ownership, contributions and equitable sharing. * Evidence – valuation disputes – use of government valuer, independent valuer and court locus inspection to determine market value. * Procedural law – timeliness of appeal; costs and abuse of process.
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2 September 2016 |
| August 2016 |
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Family Law
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16 August 2016 |
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Family Law
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16 August 2016 |
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Family Law
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16 August 2016 |
| July 2016 |
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Registry misplacement excused late service; preliminary objection overruled and no order as to costs.
Civil procedure — service of summons — Order 5 r.1(2) CPR — 21-day service requirement and extension; registry misplacement of court file — delay caused by court excusing non-compliance; preliminary objection — requirement to plead grounds — objection found pleaded; omission of court not to be visited on litigant; preliminary point overruled, no costs.
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15 July 2016 |
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Ex-parte judgment entered without proof of service and before an apparently biased magistrate was set aside; retrial ordered.
Civil procedure – Revision under s.83 Civil Procedure Act – ex parte judgment – requirement of affidavit/proof of service – service by co-defendant not effective – appearance of bias/recusal principles – material irregularity and miscarriage of justice – retrial ordered.
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14 July 2016 |
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Court allowed joinder of purchasers as co-defendants where cancellation of estate transactions would affect their interests.
* Civil procedure – Joinder of parties – O.1 r.10(2) CPR – Party may be joined where presence is necessary for effectual and complete adjudication, not only where a cause of action exists.
* Executors/administrators and third-party purchasers – Cancellation of estate transactions may affect purchasers’ titles – purchasers should be joined to avoid multiplicity of suits.
* Bona fide purchaser/possession – Status does not automatically preclude joinder; affected parties entitled to be heard.
* Relief – Joinder allowed; costs in the cause.
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14 July 2016 |
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Family Law
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13 July 2016 |
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Court granted legal guardianship to foreign applicants, applying pre‑amendment law and finding it in the child’s best interests.
Family law – Guardianship of abandoned child – Jurisdiction of High Court – Non‑retrospective application of Children (Amendment) Act 2016 – Best interests of the child paramount – Appointment of foreign guardians and authorization to travel to complete adoption with registration and reporting conditions.
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13 July 2016 |
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Application dismissed because the power of attorney neither authorised litigation nor was duly executed under s148.
* Powers of Attorney – scope and construction – authority to litigate must be expressly granted by the instrument.
* Registration of Titles Act s148 – instruments executed by mark require attesting-witness certificate in prescribed form; absence renders instrument not duly executed.
* Civil procedure – competency of application – defective authority and execution of enabling instrument renders application incompetent.
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8 July 2016 |
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Grant revoked as inoperative after death of a joint administrator; fresh grant issued to surviving administrators.
Succession law – Revocation of letters of administration – Inoperative grant due to death of joint administrator – Power under Succession Act s234(2)(d) – Fresh grant to surviving administrators – No need to re-prove previously established matters.
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1 July 2016 |
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Court revoked joint letters of administration after a co-administrator’s death and issued a fresh grant to surviving administrators.
Succession law – Revocation of letters of administration where a joint administrator dies – Grant becomes inoperative – Death certificate as sufficient proof – Fresh grant to surviving administrators without re-proving established matters.
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1 July 2016 |
| June 2016 |
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A review application failed because no error apparent on the face of the judgment barred the respondent’s reappointment as administrator.
* Civil procedure – Review – Order 46 r.1/Section 82 – Review permitted for error apparent on the face of the record or other sufficient cause.
* Probate/Administration – Revocation of letters of administration – Court may order beneficiaries to select administrators; absence of explicit bar on former administrator is not automatically an error.
* Civil procedure – Affidavit capacity – Power of attorney authorises agent to depose for a party.
* Civil procedure – Slip rule (s.99 Civil Procedure Act) appropriate for correcting clerical/omission errors arising from parties' joint documents.
* Civil procedure – Appeal vs review – letters requesting record do not prove that an appeal has been filed.
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28 June 2016 |
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Court recalled a consent judgment due to non-disclosure of a lease and struck out an unauthorised affidavit, ordering remedy within two months.
* Civil procedure – recall and review of consent judgments on grounds of non-disclosure and misrepresentation; * Evidence – competency of affidavits sworn by advocates on behalf of parties without written authority; * Remedies – recall of consent orders and directions to identify substitute property; * Costs – sanction against respondent whose defective affidavit was struck out.
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28 June 2016 |
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Alleged advocate conflict failed because the former plaintiff never instructed the advocate, so no prejudice arose.
Advocates' professional conduct — conflict of interest; former client — instructions required before acting (rule 2(1)); duty not to act against former client (rule 4); confidentiality (rule 7); fiduciary conduct (rule 10); misrepresentation to court; preliminary objection overruled.
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28 June 2016 |
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Court nullified a former administrator’s purported inventory and account where letters were revoked and no review was sought.
Administration of estates – revocation of letters of administration – validity of inventory and accounts filed by former administrator – duty to seek review under Order 46 CPR – inherent powers of court (s.98 CPA) and jurisdiction under s.14 Judicature Act to nullify improper administration; fraud allegations require oral evidence.
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13 June 2016 |
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Forgery of letters of administration renders land registration void; sole surviving child entitled to administration and entitled to cancellation, eviction, injunction and damages.
Succession law – entitlement to letters of administration – sole surviving child versus grandchild; Registration of Titles Act, s.77 – certificates procured by fraud are void; Forged letters of administration – effect on land registration; Remedies – cancellation, rectification, injunction, eviction and damages.
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10 June 2016 |
| May 2016 |
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Application to set aside ex parte orders dismissed after court found applicant’s filing and tampering allegations unsubstantiated.
Civil Procedure – Order 17 rules 3 & 4 CPR – proceeding ex parte where a party fails to appear or produce evidence; Allegation of court record tampering – requirement of corroborative evidence; Filing of sworn witness statements – proof on court record; Application to set aside ex parte orders – burden of credible evidence; Stay of judgment pending review – redundancy where application must be determined first.
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5 May 2016 |
| April 2016 |
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Court reviewed and set aside onerous stay conditions, granting an unconditional stay pending leave to appeal.
Civil procedure – Review under Order 46 CPR and ss.82, 98 CPA; "any other sufficient reason" – flexible, case-by-case discretion; Conditions of stay – harshness and unconscionability; Enforcement versus stay of execution; Review by different judge where original judge unavailable.
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19 April 2016 |
| March 2016 |
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Family Law
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31 March 2016 |
| February 2016 |
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Family Law
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23 February 2016 |
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The applicant’s injunction was refused where disputed estate land was already alienated and held by respondents despite triable issues.
Civil procedure – interlocutory injunction – requirements: prima facie/triable issue, irreparable injury, balance of convenience – status quo and possession – allegations of forged grant and unlawful administration of estate land.
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4 February 2016 |
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Family Law|Land
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3 February 2016 |
| January 2016 |
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Court granted temporary injunction preserving estate pending trial but refused the proposed interim administrator appointment.
Succession law – temporary injunction pending challenge to letters of administration – tests for interim relief (prima facie case, irreparable harm, balance of convenience) – appointment of administrator pendente lite under Succession Act s.218 – requirement of neutrality and lack of conflicting interest for interim administrators.
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27 January 2016 |
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Birth certificate proves parentage; customary marriage unproven; court granted joint administration to protect beneficiaries.
Intestate succession — precedence of applicants determined by share in estate; customary marriage proof and effect of non-registration; birth certificate as conclusive proof of parentage; grant to a minor via next friend; court’s power under Section 224 to associate persons with letters of administration.
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6 January 2016 |