|
Citation
|
Judgment date
|
| December 2020 |
|
|
Interlocutory injunction dismissed due to material non-disclosure and misrepresentation by the claimant.
Civil procedure – interlocutory injunction – Order 10 r.27 CPR – three-part test (serious question to be tried; inadequacy of damages; where justice lies) – duty of full and frank disclosure – material non-disclosure fatal to injunction – adverse possession and public land.
|
23 December 2020 |
|
Interlocutory injunction refused where competing title claims and factual disputes made interlocutory relief inappropriate.
Interlocutory injunctions – Order 10 r.27 CPR – serious question to be tried – adequacy of damages in land disputes – balance of convenience – competing title deeds – cautions against deciding factual title conflicts on affidavit.
|
22 December 2020 |
|
Interlocutory injunction refused where disputed ownership and longstanding cultivation justified maintaining the status quo.
Civil procedure – Interlocutory injunctions – Requirements: serious question to be tried; damages inadequate for land; balance of convenience/status quo – Effect of longstanding occupation and cultivation.
|
22 December 2020 |
|
Interlocutory injunction maintained to preserve status quo over disputed land pending trial due to serious issue and inadequate damages.
Interlocutory injunction — serious question to be tried — adequacy of damages for real property — balance of convenience — sale procured by duress/fraud — nemo dat quod non habet (cannot sell what one does not own) — maintenance of status quo; restraint on encroachment, sale and disposal of disputed land.
|
21 December 2020 |
|
|
18 December 2020 |
|
|
18 December 2020 |
|
|
7 December 2020 |
|
|
4 December 2020 |
| November 2020 |
|
|
The accused were convicted of obtaining money by false pretences, misuse of public office, forgery and uttering false documents.
Criminal law – Obtaining by false pretences; Corrupt Practices Act – misuse of public office; Forgery and uttering false documents; Evidentiary reliance on forensic handwriting analysis and circumstantial/common-intention proof; Burden of proof – beyond reasonable doubt.
|
29 November 2020 |
|
Registrar taxed applicants’ bill at MWK73,599,329.30, disallowing party costs for in‑house counsel and permitting two counsel to be indemnified.
Costs assessment — Registrar’s discretion on number of counsel; in‑house counsel and indemnity for party‑and‑party costs; inclusion of Judicial Review work in taxed bill following certification as constitutional matter; taxation of bill to MWK73,599,329.30.
|
26 November 2020 |
|
Accused acquitted due to involuntary confession, insufficient evidence, and unresolved jurisdictional doubts.
Criminal law — admissibility of cautions — involuntary confession obtained under alleged beating and illiteracy; Territorial jurisdiction — section 5 Penal Code — offences partly committed abroad; Proof beyond reasonable doubt — insufficient eyewitness identification and missing State witnesses; Common intention (section 22) — murder not a probable consequence of drug-dealing enterprise; Police investigative deficiencies and unlawful coercion.
|
24 November 2020 |
|
|
20 November 2020 |
|
|
17 November 2020 |
|
|
16 November 2020 |
|
|
11 November 2020 |
|
|
11 November 2020 |
|
|
11 November 2020 |
|
|
11 November 2020 |
|
|
10 November 2020 |
|
|
9 November 2020 |
|
|
9 November 2020 |
|
|
6 November 2020 |
|
|
3 November 2020 |
| October 2020 |
|
|
|
30 October 2020 |
|
|
27 October 2020 |
|
|
27 October 2020 |
|
|
26 October 2020 |
|
|
23 October 2020 |
|
|
21 October 2020 |
|
|
20 October 2020 |
|
Assessment of damages for serious leg fractures: general damages awarded; special damages not proved; prior payment deducted.
Assessment of damages – Personal injury – pain and suffering, loss of amenities of life, disfigurement – reliance on comparable awards and inflation adjustments – special damages must be strictly pleaded and proved – deduction of prior insurer payment – leave to appeal granted.
|
16 October 2020 |
|
Assessment of wrongful‑death damages: loss of expectation of life, dependency calculation, and failure to prove special damages.
Assessment of damages – wrongful death – loss of expectation of life; loss of dependency – multiplicand and multiplier method; deduction of one‑third for personal expenses; life expectancy as multiplier basis; special damages require strict proof; adjustment for currency devaluation; default judgment assessment.
|
16 October 2020 |
|
Assessment of damages for catastrophic spinal injury: awards for pain, disfigurement and future care; no income or special damages.
Personal injury — assessment of damages — catastrophic spinal cord injury causing paraplegia — awards for pain and suffering, loss of amenities and disfigurement — future treatment and nursing care — loss of future earnings denied for lack of proof — special damages not proved — use of comparative awards and inflation adjustments.
|
16 October 2020 |
|
Assessment of personal injury damages; awards for pain, loss of amenities, and dismissal of unproven special damages.
Assessment of damages – personal injury – pain and suffering; loss of amenities of life; special damages require strict proof; use of comparative awards and adjustment for currency devaluation.
|
16 October 2020 |
|
Assessment of damages for wrongful death: entitlement, dependency calculations, and proof of special damages.
Damages assessment — wrongful death following road accident — entitlement of claimant lacking letters of administration — loss of expectation of life; loss of dependency (multiplicand, multiplier and 2/3 factor); special damages and proof; admissibility of receipts made out to employer/association.
|
16 October 2020 |
|
|
14 October 2020 |
|
|
13 October 2020 |
|
Court awarded aggravated damages to the claimants for defamatory newspaper publication and ordered the defendant to pay costs.
Defamation (libel) – aggravated damages – assessment factors: content and extent of publication, plaintiffs' standing and reputational harm, defendant's conduct (failure to retract/settle, pursuit of sensational publication), comparable awards and currency value adjustment; costs awarded to successful claimants.
|
12 October 2020 |
|
|
1 October 2020 |
|
|
1 October 2020 |
| September 2020 |
|
|
|
25 September 2020 |
|
Court limited property division to jointly held assets, recorded joint custody of the younger child, and ordered K300,000 monthly maintenance.
Family law – dissolution of marriage – ancillary relief – distribution of matrimonial property – only jointly held property or property with proven joint contribution is distributable; intention, conduct and contribution are decisive; inherited property excluded. Custody – joint custody of younger child recorded; no order for non‑issue older child. Maintenance – court fixes monthly maintenance at K300,000. Valuation – improvements to family business to be valued and split.
|
23 September 2020 |
|
Defendant's general denials breached CPR Order 7; court ordered both parties to amend pleadings to comply.
Civil procedure – Order 7 Rules 6 & 7 (defence must deal with each fact; no general denial) – Order 7 Rule 21 (pleading must state nature and amount of damages) – striking out vs amendment – overriding objective and equitable ‘clean hands’ principle.
|
21 September 2020 |
|
|
19 September 2020 |
|
|
18 September 2020 |
|
Claimant awarded loss-of-business damages against the water board for negligent failure to reconnect paid water supply; building-ownership and property claims failed.
Tort — negligence — duty of care of utility provider to end-users after paid pipe relocation and reconnection — ownership and standing to claim for property damage — frustration/force majeure and tenant's remedies.
|
10 September 2020 |
|
Whether the respondents were liable for negligence and statutory breaches causing sewage contamination of the claimants' water.
Negligence — duty of care, foreseeability, proximity and causation; Breach of statutory duty (Public Health Act, Local Government Act, Consumer Protection Act, Malawi Housing Corporation Act); Rylands v. Fletcher — escape of sewage; Liability of public bodies for sewerage-related contamination; Striking out defences for non-appearance; Class/collective consumer action.
|
9 September 2020 |
|
Local authority and landlord held liable for negligence and statutory breaches after sewage contaminated consumers' water.
Negligence — duty of care to maintain sewer and water infrastructure; breach of statutory duties — Public Health Act, Local Government Act, Consumer Protection Act; contamination of potable water; Rylands v Fletcher principle; striking out defences for non‑appearance; damages and costs, assessment by Registrar.
|
9 September 2020 |
|
Claimants succeed against local authority and housing corporation for negligence and statutory breaches causing sewage-contaminated drinking water.
Negligence; breach of statutory duty; consumer protection and public health obligations; local authority and housing corporation liability; contamination of drinking water; causation; Rylands v Fletcher principle; striking out defences for non-appearance.
|
9 September 2020 |
|
|
8 September 2020 |