Results.
21 judgments found.
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| December 2013 |
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Tenant liable for unpaid rent, repair costs and water bills; commercial interest (bank prime +4%) and costs awarded.
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Contract Law
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Tenancy — Recovery of unpaid rent and repair costs — Breach of express lease obligations
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Remedies — Interest on commercial debts — Award of interest at bank prime plus 4% as compensation for being kept out of money
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Civil Procedure — Trial in absence — Proceeding after proof of service of hearing notice and bundle
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18 December 2013 |
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High Court granted bail where lower court denied it without proper reasons and lengthy pre-trial detention weighed in favour.
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Criminal Law
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Bail — Proper consideration of interests of justice and requirement to give reasons when refusing bail
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Pre-trial Detention — Prolonged pre-trial custody and alleged weakness of the State's case as factors in bail consideration
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15 December 2013 |
| November 2013 |
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Interim injunction refused where landlord’s common-law right to distrain for rent persisted and damages were adequate.
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Civil procedure — interim injunctions — American Cyanamid principles; landlord’s common-law right to distrain for rent; adequacy of damages and undertaking as to damages; role of Sheriff and warrants of distress; balance of convenience in commercial tenancy disputes.
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26 November 2013 |
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An interim injunction preventing installation of a village head was refused where the claimant lacked a good arguable succession claim.
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Civil Procedure — Interim Injunctions — Test for grant: serious question to be tried, adequacy of damages, balance of convenience — American Cyanamid principles
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Customary Law — Chieftaincy Succession — Rightful heir and proof of customary succession — Role of custodians of custom
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Remedies — Adequacy of damages and preservation of status quo ante — Irreparable harm in office disputes
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14 November 2013 |
| October 2013 |
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The applicant’s appeal failed: summary judgment for the respondent upheld; compound interest awarded; unpleaded breach damages set aside.
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Civil Procedure — Summary Judgment — Whether summary judgment appropriate where plaintiff proves claim and defendant lacks bona fide defence
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Contract — Third‑party Repairs and Payment — Liability of party who instructed repairs despite insurance contract with a third party
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Remedies — Interest on Commercial Debts — Award of compound interest at commercial rate where defendant wrongfully withholds funds
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31 October 2013 |
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Plaintiff’s failure to initiate mediation and prosecute the claim justified dismissal for want of prosecution with costs.
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Civil procedure — dismissal for want of prosecution — failure to initiate mediation within prescribed time — Mandatory Mediation Rules (Rule 7(2)) — failure to prosecute and attend hearing — costs awarded to respondent.
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30 October 2013 |
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Summary judgment and judgment on admission refused where defendant raised triable issues and no clear admission of the claimed debt.
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Civil procedure — summary judgment (Order 14) — requirement of no bona fide defence; summary disposal inappropriate where triable issues exist. Civil procedure — judgment on admission (Order 27) — letters/faxes must clearly admit claim to justify judgment
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Evidence — defendant’s burden at summary stage to raise credible, triable issues (e.g., disputed invoices, proof of payment)
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30 October 2013 |
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Insurer liable for passengers' injuries despite policy exclusion; owner negligent for failing to keep vehicle in repair.
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Road Traffic Act s.148(2) — insurer liability despite policy exclusions; Owner's duty to keep vehicle in repair — res ipsa loquitur; Procedural joinder — late objection and available remedies (third-party notice/calling witness).
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15 October 2013 |
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Compliance with a lawful police request to hand over the applicant did not constitute false imprisonment or defamation.
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False imprisonment — private person assisting police — s41(a) Criminal Procedure and Evidence Code — lawful delivery to police; Defamation — conduct as publication — mere arrest/handcuffing not necessarily defamatory; Compliance with lawful police request as defence to civil liability; Failure to prosecute does not of itself establish false imprisonment.
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15 October 2013 |
| September 2013 |
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Whether chiefs can alienate customary land and whether the applicant's long-term investment warranted protection and compensation.
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Customary land — chiefs lack authority to sell — customary land vests in the President; Right to use vs title — long-term use and substantial investment create protectable use-rights; Appeal remedies — reversal, remittal under Courts Act s22(d) to quantify losses; Compensation for destruction of trees/crops.
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30 September 2013 |
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An appellant cannot dispossess longstanding customary occupiers; long use of customary land confers protected rights.
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Customary land — rights of use not alienable title — long uninterrupted occupation confers protectable rights; access to courts not ousted by chiefs’ processes; procedural irregularity (delay and improper fees) criticized but insufficient to overturn substantive decision
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15 September 2013 |
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High Court dismissed a customary land claim as prematurely commenced; statutory land tribunals under the Customary Land Act must first adjudicate.
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Customary land disputes — jurisdiction — Customary Land Act 2016 Part VII — requirement to institute customary land tribunals and district land tribunals; non-establishment and undue delay; judicial duty to give effect to statute; High Court not competent at first instance for matters assigned to statutory tribunals; precedential weight of Polypet Packaging Industries v. OG Plastic Industries; Kennes Msuku obiter dicta per incuriam
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1 September 2013 |
| August 2013 |
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A bare assertion that damages may exceed subordinate court limits does not justify transfer to the High Court.
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Civil Procedure — Transfer of Proceedings — Whether transfer to High Court under s 11(a)(vii) should be ordered where plaintiff alleges damages will exceed subordinate court jurisdiction — Applicant must demonstrate likely quantum by reference to facts or precedents — Courts Act s 11(a)(vii)
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15 August 2013 |
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Court quashed robbery and unlawful wounding convictions where evidence was insufficient and a plea of guilty was improperly accepted.
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Criminal law — sufficiency of evidence for robbery conviction — duplication of convictions; Criminal procedure — plea of guilty — admissibility and weight of caution/denial statements (Rep v Chikakuda) — requirement to treat qualified admissions as not guilty pleas.
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8 August 2013 |
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The applicant may have a default judgment set aside if their affidavit discloses an arguable defence on the merits.
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Default judgment — setting aside under Order 13 r.9/Order 19 r.9; discretionary power; requirement to disclose an arguable defence on the merits; delay and prejudice; implied stay of proceedings following stay of execution; restoration of summons.
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3 August 2013 |
| July 2013 |
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23 July 2013 |
| June 2013 |
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Guilty‑plea conviction affirmed; ten‑year armed robbery sentence reduced to seven years as manifestly excessive.
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Criminal Law — Sentencing — Robbery — Starting points and guidelines for s.301 offences and robberies involving firearms
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Criminal Procedure — Confirmation review — Conviction based on unequivocal guilty plea — Admission and prosecutor’s factual narrative
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Constitutional Law — Sentencing proportionality — Protection from cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment — Consideration of offence, victim, offender and public interest
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17 June 2013 |
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Whether a constitutional referral is valid where originating court and certification formalities were not followed, and whether delay justified dismissal.
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Constitutional law — Procedure for constitutional referrals — Validity of referral where originating court failed to use Form 3 and Chief Justice’s certificate not in Form 1 — Jurisdictional limits of section 9(2) and 9(3) of the Courts Act
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Civil procedure
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Dismissal for want of prosecution — Application of Birkett v James/Trill v Sacher principles — Inordinate, excusable delay and prejudice
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Stay of original proceedings by constitutional referral — Abuse of process where referral delays commercial remedy
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11 June 2013 |
| May 2013 |
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Ex parte injunction dissolved for suppression of material facts and prematurity; plaintiffs ordered to pay costs.
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Civil Procedure — Interlocutory Injunctions — Ex parte disclosure and suppression of material facts
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Environmental Law — Conservation/Exploration Activities — Proper party to injunctive relief and relevance of institutional reports
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Equity — Clean Hands Doctrine — Applicants' misrepresentations and prematurity of equitable relief
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3 May 2013 |
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Interlocutory injunction to restrain lawful distraint for rent denied; sheriff need not hold a bailiff certificate.
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Landlord and Tenant — Distress for Rent — Whether the Sheriff requires a bailiff's certificate under the Law of Distress Amendment Act 1888 — Sheriff may distrain by virtue of office; certificate unnecessary
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Civil Procedure — Interim Injunctions — Restraining lawful distraint for rent — Exceptional nature of relief; damages ordinarily adequate
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2 May 2013 |
| February 2013 |
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Court dismissed challenge to ex parte revocation of letters of administration, upholding removal for maladministration under s55(2).
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Civil Procedure — Ex Parte Orders — Challenge to order obtained ex parte on denial of hearing — Distinction between administrative and judicial action
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Estate Law — Revocation of Letters of Administration — Power to remove administrator for maladministration — Deceased Estates (Wills, Inheritance and Protection) Act s 55(2)
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15 February 2013 |