High Court of Malawi - 1988

44 judgments
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Results. 44 judgments found.

44 judgments
December 1988
23 December 1988
Plaintiff proved debt for goods sold; defendant’s incomplete-goods defence inconsistent with pleadings and rejected.
  • Contract — sale of goods — whether goods sold were complete and in working condition; payment terms evidenced by invoice and delivery note; variance between pleaded defence and evidence; proof of debt on balance of probabilities.
5 December 1988
The plaintiff failed to prove the defendant unlawfully drew water from the mains; claim dismissed with costs.
  • Water supply — alleged unlawful abstraction from mains — trespass to goods — burden of proof — credibility and circumstantial billing evidence — temporary connection not actionable trespass.
5 December 1988
1 December 1988
November 1988
Employer liable for false imprisonment and unjustified dismissal where evidence did not establish employee's guilt.
  • Employment law — wrongful suspension and summary dismissal; False imprisonment — employer’s communication and delivery of employee to police; Damages for unlawful detention; Insufficiency of circumstantial evidence to prove employee theft.
30 November 1988
October 1988
Applicant withdrew petition; court awarded costs to respondent, finding ambiguity in creditor's instalment terms was creditor's fault.
  • Civil procedure — withdrawal of petition — costs follow the event; Contract/creditor correspondence — ambiguity in payment terms attributable to creditor; Costs awarded to respondent.
13 October 1988
13 October 1988
September 1988
Credit sales of fuel at filling stations were illegal under conservation regulations; plaintiff recovered only depot cash-sale amounts.
  • Preservation of Public Security (Conservation of Motor Fuel) Regulations — prohibition of non-cash sales at fuel stations — credit sales at filling stations illegal and not recoverable; recoverability of fuel sold/delivered at supplier depots; credibility of defendant’s evidence on waybills and payments.
13 September 1988
August 1988
31 August 1988
29 August 1988
Defendant held liable to pay contract shortfall; counterclaim for construction defects dismissed.
  • Contract law — construction contract — implied term of reasonable time for completion; financier deductions and project shortfall; whether contractor waived right to payment; certification of completion; counterclaim for alleged defects — failure to notify and remedial works by third party.
26 August 1988
July 1988
1 July 1988
June 1988
Bus driver's failure to slow on a wet road found negligent; plaintiff's driver also contributorily negligent; damages halved.
  • Negligence — driver obliged to slow and be able to stop safely when put on guard by vehicle indicators and junction ahead; contributory negligence — failure to complete lane change; wet road conditions; presence of cyclist as contributing circumstance; apportionment of liability.
29 June 1988
21 June 1988
Employer liable for brief false imprisonment and wrongful dismissal; malicious prosecution and defamation claims dismissed.
  • Employment law — wrongful dismissal; False imprisonment — vicarious liability for employee/agent reporting to police; Malicious prosecution — claimant must show defendant set law in motion; Defamation — statements by police not attributable to employer.
21 June 1988
Whether a 15% handling commission formed part of the tourist delivery contract and if refundable sales tax could be retained.
  • Contract interpretation — tourist delivery sale — whether 15% handling/commission agreed; admissibility of oral evidence to explain a written quotation; set-off/withholding of refundable foreign sales tax; credibility findings on commercial price quotations.
17 June 1988
17 June 1988
Training bond enforced; defendant must repay training expenses; UK employment/salary claim dismissed.
  • Training bond enforceability — repayment of training expenses; distinction between trainee and employee under UK work permit; no employment contract with UK host; set‑off of admitted payables.
16 June 1988
Licencee’s disorderly conduct and property damage justified eviction; assault claim dismissed.
  • Licences — licencee’s conduct — breach of contractual conditions by disorderly conduct and property damage; eviction — servant’s implied authority to use reasonable force to protect property; assault claim defeated where licencee became trespasser.
16 June 1988
3 June 1988
May 1988
Applicant's late acceptance did not form a contract when goods were sold prior; claim dismissed with costs.
  • Contract law — Offer qualified by "available ex-our stock, subject to prior sales"; formation of contract for specific goods; late acceptance; credibility of contemporaneous communications; specific performance claim dismissed.
31 May 1988
Decree nisi granted for cruelty; petitioner awarded custody and respondent ordered to pay costs.
  • Family law — Matrimonial causes — Cruelty as ground for divorce — Proof of repeated physical assaults and miscarriage — Undefended petition and warning against collusion — Decree nisi, custody and costs ordered.
27 May 1988
6 May 1988
Court found termination (not suspension), rejected alleged voucher payment, and awarded three months’ salary in lieu of notice.
  • Employment law — termination v. suspension — admissibility and weight of company documents and signatures — notice period (oral term) — damages for termination in lieu of notice.
6 May 1988
Plaintiff entitled to arrears after repossession; deposit held paid and sale proceeds credited, judgment K1,175.82.
  • Hire-purchase — payment of deposit — disputed cheque evidence and ledger entries — repossession and entitlement to arrears — credit for sale proceeds.
6 May 1988
April 1988
Procedural default on opposition did not mandate winding up; court ordered share sale with first option to the other shareholder.
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15 April 1988
15 April 1988
12 April 1988
5 April 1988
March 1988
Clear admission supports judgment; alleged set-off in separate unpleaded action cannot defeat judgment on admission.
  • Civil procedure — Judgment on admission — Sufficiency and clarity of admission — Set-off and counterclaim — Requirement to plead counterclaim under Order 15 — Separate actions and consolidation — Abuse of court.
28 March 1988
21 March 1988
Applicant granted decree nisi for divorce on adultery inferred from respondent’s cohabitation and children; respondent ordered to pay costs.
  • Matrimonial law — Divorce — Adultery — Proof by inference from cohabitation and children — Undefended petition and absence of collusion — Jurisdiction where parties domiciled in Malawi
21 March 1988
18 March 1988
Whether the applicant proved the respondent's desertion; court found desertion and granted decree nisi dissolving the marriage.
  • Family law — Divorce — Desertion — Proof of factum of separation and animus deserendi — Undefended petition and absence of collusion — Decree nisi granted; custody and ancillary matters adjourned — Costs awarded to petitioner.
11 March 1988
11 March 1988
11 March 1988
1 March 1988
February 1988
23 February 1988
Repudiation of a lease entitles claimant to damages, but proved lost profits limited by notice period; nominal damages awarded.
  • Contract — repudiation of lease — notice period limits damages — anticipated profits must be proved — nominal damages when no actual loss established.
18 February 1988
Marriage solemnized in Malawi is void if the respondent had a prior subsisting marriage; domicile irrelevant.
  • Marriage law — Nullity — Bigamy — Prior subsisting marriage — Jurisdiction under Divorce Act s.2(b) where marriage solemnized in Malawi — Domicile irrelevant to jurisdiction for nullity petitions — Adultery irrelevant where no subsisting marriage.
11 February 1988
January 1988
29 January 1988
22 January 1988
15 January 1988
The applicant’s request for a private sale of seized assets was dismissed for failure to notify and serve other execution creditors.
  • Sheriff’s Act s16 & s18 — sale of seized property — private treaty — requirement to notify and serve other execution creditors — Order 47 r6 RSC — procedural competence — priority of warrants — conflict of interest in appointment of sale agent.
8 January 1988