High Court of Malawi - 2017

287 judgments
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Results. 287 judgments found.

287 judgments
May 2017
Summary judgment refused where plaintiff failed to authenticate documents and dispel bona fide factual disputes.
  • Civil procedure — Summary judgment — Order 14 — Plaintiff must verify claim and show absence of bona fide defence; authentication of documents, electronic communications and data-logger summaries essential; unresolved evidential inconsistencies preclude summary judgment.
11 May 2017
Each plaintiff awarded K1,000,000 for five days' false imprisonment for loss of liberty and humiliation.
  • False imprisonment — quantum of damages; compensation for loss of liberty, humiliation and mental suffering; evidentiary weight of alleged cell conditions; comparative awards and judicial discretion in assessing non-pecuniary damages.
11 May 2017
A magistrate court cannot transfer proceedings to the High Court; the purported transfer of assessment was invalid and dismissed.
  • Civil procedure — jurisdiction and transfer of proceedings — Courts Act ss.26, 40, 46 — subordinate courts may transfer only to other subordinate courts — High Court empowered to transfer proceedings to itself — purported transfer of assessment of damages invalid.
11 May 2017
Driver’s excessive speed and failure to keep lookout caused pedestrian's death; plaintiff awarded damages; quantum to be assessed.
  • Road traffic accident — negligence — driver’s duty to avoid excessive speed and keep proper lookout — causation and burden on balance of probabilities — insurer sued under s.148(1) RTA — assessment of damages by Registrar.
11 May 2017
Court ordered first defendant to file handwriting expert report by deadline or have its case deemed closed; final submissions due 30 days.
  • Civil procedure — expert evidence — handwriting expert — failure to produce expert report — deeming party's case closed — timetable for final submissions
10 May 2017
Registrar acted without jurisdiction; garnishee execution set aside and award funds retained by the court pending appeal.
  • Civil procedure — Jurisdiction — Proceedings and execution by a court officer without jurisdiction are null and void ab initio — Registrar’s ultra vires conduct — Garnishee order and payment — Funds to remain in custody pending appeal.
9 May 2017
4 May 2017
Claim to restrain bank sale failed where written loan agreement barred verbal amendment and claim disclosed no cause of action.
  • Contract law — Entire agreement clause and requirement for written, signed amendments; Pleadings — failure to plead key allegations; Civil procedure — strike out for disclosing no cause of action; Injunctive relief — cannot be based on unpleaded or verbal variations to a written loan agreement.
1 May 2017
Uncontested petition: respondent's deceit, arson and fraud found to constitute cruelty, justifying divorce and costs.
  • Matrimonial law — Divorce — Cruelty as ground for dissolution — Uncontested petition and unchallenged evidence — Conduct including deceit, insurance fraud and arson constituting cruelty — Domicile and absence of collusion.
1 May 2017
Uncontroverted passenger evidence established driver negligence and insurer vicarious liability; damages to be assessed by the Registrar.
  • Motor vehicle accident — driver negligence — passenger's uncontroverted evidence — vicarious liability of insurer — assessment of damages by Registrar.
1 May 2017
April 2017
28 April 2017
Taxation need not await appeal, but failure to file the required taxation bundle mandates a stay until compliance.
  • Civil procedure — Taxation of costs — Effect of notice of appeal on taxation — Order 62 r8(4) discretion — Requirement to file taxation bundle — Order 62 r29(7) — Non‑compliance justifying stay.
28 April 2017
27 April 2017
27 April 2017
26 April 2017
26 April 2017
26 April 2017
Court quashed the respondent’s prosecution decision and granted permanent stay for lack of evidence and procedural irregularity.
  • Judicial review — prosecutorial discretion — leave to apply for judicial review — per incuriam/estoppel/suppression — Wednesbury unreasonableness — abuse of process — Corrupt Practices Act and Criminal Procedure & Evidence Code procedural compliance — permanent stay of prosecution and certiorari.
24 April 2017
24 April 2017
21 April 2017
21 April 2017
21 April 2017
Whether the applicant may challenge project implementation without an EIA and secure state-held project documents under the right to information.
  • Administrative Law — Judicial Review — Leave to apply for judicial review; standing and arguable case
  • Environmental Law — Environmental Impact Assessment — Requirement to conduct EIA and obtain approval before implementation — Environment Management Act s24; Specified Projects Notice (1998)
  • Constitutional Law — Right of Access to Information — State-held documents — Constitution s37 — Disclosure ordered
21 April 2017
20 April 2017
20 April 2017
20 April 2017
19 April 2017
Interlocutory injunction preserving GVH throne upheld; defendants’ application to vacate dismissed with costs.
  • Interlocutory injunctions — American Cyanamid principles — good and arguable claim threshold — preservation of status quo — alleged suppression of material facts in ex parte applications — customary procedures in chieftaincy removals.
19 April 2017
13 April 2017
13 April 2017
11 April 2017
11 April 2017
11 April 2017
Divorce granted on the petitioner’s uncontroverted allegation of the respondent’s adultery; respondent absent and no children or property.
  • Divorce — Adultery as ground for dissolution — Effect of respondent’s default/absence where service acknowledged — No children or matrimonial property to adjudicate.
10 April 2017
An appeal was dismissed for want of prosecution where the appellant filed a notice but took no further steps to prosecute it.
  • Civil procedure — Appeal — Notice of appeal alone insufficient — Want of prosecution — Dismissal of appeal hearing for failure to take required procedural steps.
9 April 2017
5 April 2017
4 April 2017
Appellate court upheld conviction and concurrent sentences based on recent possession and an unreasonable explanation.
  • Criminal law — burglary and armed robbery — doctrine of recent possession — possession of stolen property shortly after theft — burden and standard of proof — appellate restraint on sentence interference; concurrent sentences.
3 April 2017
2 April 2017
March 2017
Whether respondents committed contempt by harvesting sugarcane during an extant interlocutory injunction.
  • Civil procedure — contempt of court — breach of interlocutory injunction — proof beyond reasonable doubt and mens rea required — discretionary sanctions: fine with default imprisonment — assessment and payment of proceeds into court.
31 March 2017
Detention beyond statutory remand periods without imminent trial is unlawful; court ordered a timetable and trial date to remedy delay.
  • Criminal procedure — remand periods — s161F & s161G — illegal detention where trial not imminent — prosecutorial delay and funding constraints — court-ordered timetable to compel prompt trial.
30 March 2017
Improper case assignment and failures in child-witness procedure rendered the trial a nullity; retrial ordered with protective measures.
  • Administrative impropriety in case assignment; child-witness protections — in camera hearings, voir dire for competency, unsworn evidence and corroboration; pre-recorded interviews admissibility; disciplinary accountability for judicial officers.
29 March 2017
Application to suspend enforcement dismissed for being improperly brought under Order 28 r.48 absent enforcement proceedings.
  • Civil procedure — Stay/suspension of enforcement — Order 28 r.48 CPR — enforcement order required before suspension application — threshold competence — procedural dismissal.
27 March 2017
Plaintiff failed to prove driver negligence or that defendant insured the vehicle; claim dismissed with costs.
  • Tort — Negligence — Burden of proof — Plaintiff must adduce sufficient evidence to establish negligence on the balance of probabilities
  • Evidence — Hearsay — Police report authored by non-witness inadmissible and not probative
  • Insurance — Proof of cover — Claimant must prove insurer relationship before imposing liability on insurer
20 March 2017
High Court has jurisdiction to distribute intestate estates; absent proven special circumstances, spouse and children receive adjusted fair shares (29%, 29%, 32%, 5%, 5%).
  • Probate/Intestate succession — High Court jurisdiction under Deceased Estates Act — s.17 fair distribution principles — "special circumstances" to depart from equal shares — weight of intestate's terminal-benefits allocation and proof of spousal/third-party contributions — consideration of children's ages and parents' medical needs.
15 March 2017
A defendant who takes substantive steps cannot later seek a stay for arbitration; amendments must be by summons or motion.
  • Civil Procedure
    • — Arbitration Clause — Stay of proceedings — Timing of application under Arbitration Act s 6(1)
    • — Amendment of Pleadings — Mode of application under Order 20 RSC — Summons or Notice of Motion required
15 March 2017
Both applicant and respondent found negligent; damages apportioned equally and respondent insurer liable for half.
  • Road traffic law — negligence in overtaking — duty of care of driver — contributory negligence by cyclist — apportionment of liability 50:50 — insurer’s direct liability under Road Traffic Act — limited weight of police report/opinion.
13 March 2017
Proceedings stayed until taxation and payment of costs owed by the plaintiff following a consent discontinuance.
  • Civil procedure — stay of proceedings — discontinuance by consent — enforceability of unsigned (unendorsed) consent order — Order 21 r5 — taxation and payment of costs.
10 March 2017
Bail and stay pending appeal denied where medical report is admissible as a whole and appeal lacks real prospects.
  • Criminal procedure — bail pending appeal; stay of sentence — refusal where appeal lacks real prospects
  • Evidence — medical report admissible as a whole; challenges to complainant's age must be raised at trial
6 March 2017
Administrator appointed after suit commenced cannot recover loss of expectation of life; dependency and funeral costs awarded and apportioned.
  • Civil damages — Wrongful death; administrators' title to sue — letters of administration must precede commencement to claim loss of expectation of life; loss of dependency assessed by multiplicand/multiplier (domestic worker wage; multiplier 35); special damages require strict proof; apportionment among dependants.
6 March 2017