All courts - 2024 October

18 judgments
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Results. 18 judgments found.

18 judgments
October 2024
Summary judgment refused because disputed facts and legal issues exist on premises owner status and dog-handler negligence.
  • Civil procedure — Summary judgment — Order 12 CPR — Realistic vs fanciful prospects; Premises liability — vicarious/statutory owner under Control and Diseases of Animals Act; Negligence of dog handler — triable issue; Failure to plead/support failure-to-warn allegation; Judgment on admission — requirements for written admissions.
31 October 2024
30 October 2024
Court continued stay of execution pending appeal, dismissed disclosure application as otiose, and ordered parties to agree arrangements within 28 days.
  • Civil procedure — stay of execution pending appeal — discretion guided by interests of justice; disclosure/production of financial documents — otiose and irrelevant where stay already granted; interlocutory directions to agree arrangements.
30 October 2024
Registrar rejected duplicate originating proceedings as an abuse of process and improper filing at the wrong registry.
  • Registrar's power to reject documents — abuse of court process by duplicative filings (summons and judicial review) — improper forum/registry — Order 5 rules 10–13; Order 6 r9; Courts Act s3 and s6A(2).
27 October 2024
Incomplete investigations alone do not justify continued detention; bail granted where State fails to show likely interference or obstruction.
  • Criminal procedure — pre-trial detention — 48-hour rule — arrest should ordinarily follow investigations; incomplete investigations do not automatically justify continued detention; bail may be granted where State fails to show likelihood of interference with witnesses or obstruction of investigations.
27 October 2024
Whether requiring NRB-issued registration as proof for voter registration unlawfully restricts the applicant's right to vote.
  • Electoral law — Voter registration — Proof of eligibility — Section 12 Elections Act requiring NRB registration as proof — Franchise under section 77 Constitution — Interlocutory injunction — Separation of powers.
25 October 2024
Interpleader claim dismissed where claimant failed to follow Sheriff Act procedure and did not prove ownership of seized goods.
  • Interpleader relief; section 11(a)(iii) Courts Act; Order 29 CPR scope; section 20 Sheriff’s Act (Sheriff interpleader summons); burden to prove ownership of goods seized in execution.
25 October 2024
25 October 2024
Application to file supplementary skeleton arguments deferred to the full bench; copies to be supplied by deadline or dismissed.
  • Civil procedure — interlocutory application for leave to file supplementary skeleton arguments — judicial discretion — timing and service of filings — appropriateness of single-member determination where appeal listed before full bench — procedural directions and automatic dismissal for non-compliance.
24 October 2024
The applicant (Attorney General) lacks standing to be joined where government shareholding is held through a separate corporate entity.
  • Joinder of parties — Order 6 r 7 CPR — person "affected by a proceeding"; Company law — separate legal personality (Salomon) and shareholder standing; Contractual clauses — exclusive jurisdiction vs arbitration clause; Civil Procedure Rules — overriding objective and active case management; Judicial conduct — recusal of judge.
22 October 2024
Failure to consult senior employees before retrenchment amounted to unfair dismissal and an unfair labour practice.
  • Employment law — retrenchment for operational requirements — duty to consult employees — fair and equitable procedure under s.61(2) Employment Act and s.31 Constitution — consultant-led functional review — adequacy of consultation; legitimate expectation from proposed contract change; severance versus gratuity/pension entitlements; interest on wrongfully withheld severance.
22 October 2024
Insurer subrogation succeeds where driver of BR 398 failed to give way, entitling recovery of MK15,390,000 plus interest and costs.
  • Road traffic negligence — duty to give way at junction; proof by photographs and damage pattern; insurer’s right of subrogation to sue in insured’s name; discretion to admit late documents under frontloading rules; award of compound interest and costs.
18 October 2024
The court ceased jurisdiction after referral to arbitration and declined to entertain further applications.
  • Arbitration law — Referral to arbitration cedes court jurisdiction — Court obliged to honour arbitration agreement; inability to hear matters once jurisdiction ceded; procedural delay attributable to counsel’s failure to appoint arbitrator.
16 October 2024
Appeal struck out for inordinate delay where appellant failed to ensure preparation of the record of appeal.
  • Civil Procedure
    • — Appeals from Industrial Relations Court — Striking out appeal for want of prosecution
    • — Record of Appeal — Duties of appellant and lower court to prepare record under Order XXXIII/Subordinate Court Rules
  • Labour Law — Suspension of enforcement pending appeal — Vacatur where appeal is struck out for non‑prosecution
11 October 2024
An appeal can be struck out for inordinate delay where the appellant fails to ensure timely preparation of the record of appeal.
  • Civil procedure — Appeal — Want of prosecution — Delay in preparation of record of appeal — Duties of appellant and court under procedural rules — Inherent jurisdiction to strike out appeal — Suspension of enforcement vacated — Costs under s72 Labour Relations Act
11 October 2024
A summons signed by a firm rather than a named legal practitioner is a nullity and must be struck out.
  • Civil procedure — signature requirements for originating processes — Order 5 r3 & Order 7 r1(h) CPR; Legal Education and Legal Practitioners Act — definition of 'legal practitioner' as natural person on the Roll; firm name not a legal practitioner; originating process signed by firm is nullity and incurable.
11 October 2024
Registrar rejects originating summons as procedurally defective, abusive, and brought by a claimant lacking standing.
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9 October 2024
High Court found a substantive customary marriage despite statutory publication lapses and re‑ordered equitable distribution, directing executive action on MDFRA implementation.
  • Family law — customary marriage formalities under MDFRA (ss.26–29) — effect of non‑compliance — recognition of marriage by substance and conduct; distribution of matrimonial property — principles of fairness, equitable/shared ownership and proof; jurisdiction of magistrate courts in customary divorce matters; state obligation to operationalize MDFRA registration regime.
4 October 2024