High Court of Malawi - 2003 July

11 judgments
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Results. 11 judgments found.

11 judgments
July 2003
Plaintiffs awarded damages for pain and suffering and loss of amenities; loss of earning capacity denied for lack of evidence.
  • Tort — Negligence — Assessment of damages after default judgment — Non-pecuniary loss (pain, suffering, loss of amenities) — Quantification by reference to comparable cases — Loss of earning capacity requires evidential proof
31 July 2003
Plaintiff awarded K20,000 for non‑serious cut wounds and pain; no proven pregnancy injury; costs to plaintiff.
  • Personal injury — assessment of general damages for multiple cut wounds and pain — injuries not serious — no proven effect on pregnancy — comparable awards — quantum K20,000 — costs to plaintiff
31 July 2003
The plaintiff entitled to pension benefits after employer failed to remit contributions; interim award and tax deduction ordered.
  • Employment law — pension contributions — employer’s failure to remit employee pension deductions — contractual right to pension benefits — assessment of damages — interim award and tax assessment
31 July 2003
A three-year hard labour sentence for minor theft was manifestly excessive given the guilty plea, youth, and lack of similar prior convictions.
  • Criminal law — Sentencing — Manifestly excessive sentence for simple theft; guilty plea; youth and first-offender leniency; role of prior, dissimilar convictions; community service/suspended sentence alternatives
23 July 2003
A three-year custodial sentence for theft of a K7,000 phone was manifestly excessive; guilty plea, youth and one prior conviction warranted release.
  • Criminal law — Sentencing — Manifestly excessive sentence on review for theft of low-value property — Aggravated offence not charged — Role of prior convictions and requirement to verify records — Mitigation for guilty plea, youth and first offenders — Alternatives to immediate imprisonment
23 July 2003
Court confirmed a three-year custodial sentence for ordinary burglary, outlining sentencing principles and the Chizumila starting point.
  • Criminal law — Sentencing — Burglary/housebreaking — sentencing factors (actus reus, mens rea, planning, violence, multiple offenders, victim vulnerability) — Chizumila six-year starting point — simple burglary minimum three years — custodial sentences generally appropriate
23 July 2003
Employees cannot obtain an interlocutory injunction to restrain a debenture holder’s appointment of a receiver on default.
  • Company law; security and debentures — appointment of receiver by debenture holder on default — employees lack standing to restrain appointment — American Cyanamid principles — effect of pending judicial review of shareholder’s privatization decision on debenture holder’s rights
14 July 2003
Convictions based on weak night-time identification without Turnbull warning were unsafe; alibi unrefuted.
  • Criminal law — Armed robbery — Identification evidence — Visual identification at night — Failure to apply Turnbull warning — Unreliable identification renders conviction unsafe — Alibi unrefuted
9 July 2003
A resigned director cannot continue as managing director or occupy company offices; injunction and possession ordered.
  • Company law — resignation of director — effect of written resignation — Managing Director must be a director; corporate groups — legal test for group/subsidiary relationship; tenancy at will and wrongful occupation of company premises; injunctions to restrain former director from holding himself out and interfering with management; mesne profits assessed where market rental not adduced; corporate veil not lifted where no impropriety shown.
8 July 2003
A former director who resigns cannot remain Managing Director or occupy company offices; injunction, delivery up and mesne profits ordered.
  • Company law — corporate personality and group companies — definition of group company and requirement of shareholding/control; resignation of director — effect of written resignation and inability to remain as managing director after vacating directorship; tenancy at will — wrongful occupation and mesne profits; injunction to restrain former director from holding himself out or interfering with company management; remedies for minority shareholder — oppression claim not established
7 July 2003
Whether the plaintiff proved monetary and tort claims and how to equitably divide jointly acquired family assets.
  • Family law — division of matrimonial property — proof of income and entitlement to monetary claims; tortious conduct claims in domestic context; property purchased for children — trust; vehicle valuation and distribution; dismissal of unsubstantiated counter-claims
2 July 2003