|
Citation
|
Judgment date
|
| November 1981 |
|
|
Lease expired by effluxion of time; no new tenancy proved and acceptance of payments did not create one; possession and mesne profits awarded.
Landlord and tenant — expiry of fixed-term lease by effluxion of time — whether correspondence and acceptance of arrears create new tenancy or waive notice to quit — burden of proof for arrears.
|
25 November 1981 |
| October 1981 |
|
|
Contractor breached an entire building contract by failing to complete within the agreed time; plaintiff recovered K4,000, special damages and counterclaim dismissed.
Contract law – entire contract; time made of the essence and agreed extension; breach by contractor for non‑completion; recovery of interim payments where consideration has failed; insufficient proof of special damages; counterclaim dismissed for contractor’s breach.
|
21 October 1981 |
|
|
1 October 1981 |
| May 1981 |
|
|
Whether employer or vehicle owner bears vicarious liability for negligent driving; court finds owner liable as principal/agent.
Vicarious liability – respondeat superior – course of employment – owner liability as principal/agent – burden of proof – special damages (repair costs).
|
30 May 1981 |
| April 1981 |
|
|
|
6 April 1981 |
| February 1981 |
|
|
Plaintiff proved oral defamation; defendant's truth defence failed and damages of K2,500 awarded.
Defamation – oral publication – actionable per se; defence of truth/justification – burden on defendant – absence of proof; damages for injury to reputation and business; hearing in absence after personal service.
|
26 February 1981 |
|
Delay and refusal to deliver essential agricultural items breached an indivisible contract, entitling the buyer to repudiate and recover the deposit.
Contract law – mixed written and oral terms – representations as contractual terms; Sale of goods – entire/indivisible contract; time of delivery of essence; fundamental breach entitling repudiation; proof and certainty of damages (loss of profits).
|
23 February 1981 |
|
Provocation did not reduce compensatory damages for assault causing permanent hearing loss; plaintiff awarded K4,000 plus costs.
Tort — Assault and battery — Damages for physical injury — Provocation as mitigation — Permanent eardrum perforation and partial hearing loss — Compensatory damages not reduced by trivial provocation.
|
9 February 1981 |
| January 1981 |
|
|
Whether the defendant could withhold the purchase balance where a limited repair warranty existed and defects were minor.
Sale of goods – specific goods v. sale by description – scope of verbal warranty limited to repair of manufacturer’s defects (6,000 miles/6 months) – minor intermittent oil leaks do not amount to lack of conformity – post-sale accidents/misuse attributable to buyer – buyer not entitled to withhold balance.
|
16 January 1981 |