Results.
38 judgments found.
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| December 1990 |
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Employer validly effected early retirements under pension rules; plaintiffs' negligence and deprivation claims dismissed.
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Employment law — Pension scheme construction — Early retirement (5 years/age 45) subject to employer's consent — Validity of signed retirement documents — Credibility findings — No negligence; claim dismissed.
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31 December 1990 |
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27 December 1990 |
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The applicant's obstructed vision caused the collision; no proof of the respondent's negligence, claim dismissed with costs.
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Road traffic — Duty of care of drivers and pedestrians — Burden of proof in negligence claims — Pedestrian obstructed vision running into vehicle — Insufficient evidence of driver negligence; claim dismissed.
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24 December 1990 |
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Reporting a theft and fetching police does not alone make the respondent liable for the applicant's false imprisonment.
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False imprisonment — employer’s reporting of theft to police — whether reporting and providing transport to police amounts to laying a charge or procuring arrest — evidentiary burden to prove employer caused arrest.
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24 December 1990 |
| November 1990 |
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23 November 1990 |
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Employer justified in summary dismissal for misconduct; no liability for false imprisonment or defamation.
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Employment law — summary dismissal for misconduct — duty to reconcile cash sale receipts; Civil standard of proof — balance of probabilities; False imprisonment — liability where employer orders arrest versus merely reporting facts to police; Defamation — requirement to prove publication and factual basis.
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6 November 1990 |
| October 1990 |
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31 October 1990 |
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False imprisonment claim dismissed: defendants conveyed suspicions; police acted on their own judgment; accountant acted in course of employment.
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False imprisonment — restraint by employer — distinction between directing or procuring an arrest and merely conveying suspicion to police — employer/employee acts in course of employment — assessment of credibility and contemporaneous police correspondence.
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26 October 1990 |
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Acknowledgment of service constitutes appearance and, if lodged within twelve months, makes writ renewal unnecessary; renewal application dismissed.
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Civil procedure — Writ renewal — Acknowledgment of service — Order 12 Rules 3(1), 3(2), 4, 6(2), and 10 — Effect of acknowledgment as appearance — Belated acknowledgment permitted — Renewal unnecessary if writ served within 12 months — Procedure under Order 3, Rule 6.
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18 October 1990 |
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Civil false-imprisonment claim stayed pending related criminal trial to avoid inconsistent findings.
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Civil procedure — Stay of proceedings — Concurrent criminal proceedings — False imprisonment — Risk of inconsistent findings — Balance of justice.
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15 October 1990 |
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Whether the respondent could assume control of the applicant company; injunction continued, undertaking as to damages ordered.
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15 October 1990 |
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Persistent drunkenness and violence by the respondent amounted to legal cruelty, warranting a decree nisi and custody to the petitioner.
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Family law — Divorce — Cruelty — Persistent drunkenness and violent conduct constituting legal cruelty; decree nisi granted; custody to petitioner; costs awarded.
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3 October 1990 |
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Statutory power to appoint guardians under s.11(a)(i) must be exercised by the High Court in open court, not by a Registrar.
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Guardianship jurisdiction — s.11(a)(i) Courts Act — "High Court" means court in banc — Registrar/Master lacks statutory jurisdiction absent Rule of Court — Judge in chambers cannot exercise statutory open-court power — Order 32 (rules 11, 12) and Order 2 cannot circumvent statute.
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3 October 1990 |
| September 1990 |
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27 September 1990 |
| July 1990 |
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A writ is issued when sealed by a court officer; later receipt or signature dates are administrative and irrelevant to limitation.
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Limitation law — date of issue of writ — sealing by court officer constitutes issue — subsequent receipt issuance and Registrar's signature are administrative formalities; authority: United Transport v Munthali.
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20 July 1990 |
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18 July 1990 |
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Applicant entitled to maintenance but limited to K150/month to avoid reducing respondent below subsistence, applicant’s earnings partly considered.
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Family law — post-dissolution maintenance — consideration of applicant’s earnings obtained after marital breakdown — prohibition on depressing respondent below subsistence — balancing need and respondent’s unavoidable expenses.
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18 July 1990 |
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The appellant cannot be ordered to maintain an illegitimate child absent proof of paternity.
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Affiliation/maintenance — burden of proof of paternity; absence from hearing — service and Order 19(3)(2) Subordinate Court Rules; illegitimate child maintenance requires proof of paternity.
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12 July 1990 |
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Employer validly terminated under an express notice clause but unlawfully deducted alleged loss from employee's bonus.
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10 July 1990 |
| June 1990 |
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The applicant was granted a decree nisi for divorce on grounds of cruelty; respondent ordered to pay costs.
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Family law — Divorce — Cruelty as ground for dissolution — Repeated physical assaults and threats amounting to legal cruelty; Undefended petitions — court must guard against collusion but may accept uncontradicted evidence; Jurisdiction — domicile; Costs — respondent ordered to pay; Custody — adjourned to Chambers.
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29 June 1990 |
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Court refused to continue an interlocutory injunction against sale of charged land, finding damages an adequate remedy and balance of convenience favoured defendant.
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Interlocutory injunction — American Cyanamid principles — balance of convenience — adequacy of damages — Registered Land Act (s68, s71) — Local Land Boards Act consent for charges — default and sale of charged registered land.
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29 June 1990 |
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28 June 1990 |
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Summary dismissal upheld on civil evidence; false imprisonment succeeded against employer's agents, award K7,500.
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Employment law — summary dismissal for breach of trust; Civil standard (balance of probabilities) vs criminal standard; False imprisonment — liability of private persons who instigate arrest; Private arrest requires that a felony in fact occurred; Malicious prosecution — requires prosecution instigated without reasonable grounds; Contractual pension claims require proof of scheme terms.
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27 June 1990 |
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Filing a writ with the court within the limitation period constitutes bringing an action despite later administrative signing.
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'Limitation' — when action is "brought" — filing/delivery to court within limitation vs later sealing/signature by Registrar; administrative delay by court officers not to prejudice litigant; strike-out for "no reasonable cause of action" — limitation is ordinarily a defence, not a ground for striking out; Rules of Court on issue of writ; practice direction for prompt processing of court documents.
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17 June 1990 |
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Court found agreed price K12.50 per bag and dismissed plaintiff's claims for unpaid cash portion and consequential losses.
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Contract for sale of goods — disputed price — contemporaneous handwritten memorandum and invoices determine agreed rate; failure to produce debit note/payment-split document undermines later claim; consequential loss too remote — foreseeability (Hadley v Baxendale; Koufos).
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15 June 1990 |
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15 June 1990 |
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1 June 1990 |
| May 1990 |
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Company wound up under s213 after failing to satisfy undisputed judgment debts and not opposing the petition.
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Companies Act s213 — Winding-up petition — Inability to pay debts established by judgment debt — Execution returned unexecuted — Supporting creditor — Court’s discretion to wind up — Costs taxed and paid from company assets.
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21 May 1990 |
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18 May 1990 |
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18 May 1990 |
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Mortgagee validly exercised power of sale; sale extinguished redemption right, respondent must render account and pay any surplus with interest.
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Mortgage law — equity of redemption extinguished by valid exercise of power of sale; Conveyancing Acts applicable; statutory pre‑sale notice under Land Act creates penalty but does not void sale; auction irregularities give remedy in damages only; mortgagee a trustee of surplus proceeds — duty to render account and stop interest running after sale.
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11 May 1990 |
| April 1990 |
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Claims for inducing breach, trespass and conversion dismissed where plaintiff lacked possession and defendant acted on owner's instruction.
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Tort — inducement/procurement of breach — knowledge and causal link required; Trespass — action concerns possession not title; Conversion — requires intention to appropriate or assert dominion; removal on owner's instruction may be abatement of nuisance.
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30 April 1990 |
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Loan fell within Loans Recovery Act; court reduced oppressive interest to 19% per annum on the K200 principal.
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Loans Recovery Act — applicability to private money‑lending transactions — excessive/unconscionable interest — reopening transactions and taking account — credibility of parties — remedial reduction to bank rate (19% p.a.).
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6 April 1990 |
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Whether reporting suspected theft to police makes the respondent liable for the applicants' false imprisonment.
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False imprisonment; employer liability; distinction between informing police and making a charge; credibility findings; police acting on own judgment.
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6 April 1990 |
| March 1990 |
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Whether withholding payment for allegedly missing tools was lawful and whether related libel/slander claims were properly pleaded and proved.
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Contract/payment — wrongful withholding of payment alleged as set-off for missing tools; Defamation — slander and libel; pleading requirement to identify persons published to; qualified privilege for business communications; Counterclaim for conversion/replacement of tools; Costs — costs follow event but court may deprive successful party for misconduct.
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16 March 1990 |
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A single act of gross violence combined with non‑maintenance constituted legal cruelty warranting a decree nisi.
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Family law — Divorce — Cruelty — Legal cruelty defined as conduct endangering life, limb or health — Single act of gross physical violence may justify divorce — Failure to maintain as cruelty — Decree nisi granted.
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8 March 1990 |
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Whether the respondent lawfully disconnected the applicant's water and is liable for negligence and trespass.
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Water services — statutory power to disconnect (Blantyre Water Works Act s18) — wrongful disconnection — negligence in billing/investigation — trespass on premises — strict proof required for special damages (lost rent).
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8 March 1990 |
| February 1990 |
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A hirer of a crane (including supplied slings and operator) is liable where unfit slings and negligent operation cause damage.
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Contract of hire — hiring of crane, operator and slings — duty to supply equipment fit for specified task — vicarious liability for operator’s negligence — failure of lifting slings — negligent continuation despite mechanical defects.
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15 February 1990 |