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Citation
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Judgment date
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| December 1988 |
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23 December 1988 |
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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.
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5 December 1988 |
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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.
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5 December 1988 |
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1 December 1988 |
| November 1988 |
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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.
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30 November 1988 |
| October 1988 |
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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.
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13 October 1988 |
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13 October 1988 |
| September 1988 |
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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.
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13 September 1988 |
| August 1988 |
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31 August 1988 |
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29 August 1988 |
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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.
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26 August 1988 |
| July 1988 |
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1 July 1988 |
| June 1988 |
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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.
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29 June 1988 |
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21 June 1988 |
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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.
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21 June 1988 |
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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.
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17 June 1988 |
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17 June 1988 |
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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.
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16 June 1988 |
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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.
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16 June 1988 |
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3 June 1988 |
| May 1988 |
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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.
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31 May 1988 |
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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.
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27 May 1988 |
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6 May 1988 |
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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.
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6 May 1988 |
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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.
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6 May 1988 |
| April 1988 |
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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 |
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15 April 1988 |
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12 April 1988 |
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5 April 1988 |
| March 1988 |
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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.
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28 March 1988 |
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21 March 1988 |
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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
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21 March 1988 |
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18 March 1988 |
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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.
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11 March 1988 |
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11 March 1988 |
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11 March 1988 |
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1 March 1988 |
| February 1988 |
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23 February 1988 |
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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.
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18 February 1988 |
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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.
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11 February 1988 |
| January 1988 |
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29 January 1988 |
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22 January 1988 |
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15 January 1988 |
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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.
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8 January 1988 |