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Citation
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Judgment date
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| November 2018 |
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27 November 2018 |
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Plaintiff’s challenge to registry rectification must proceed by statutory appeal (petition) under the Land Registration Act, not a fresh suit.
* Land Registration Act (Cap. 334) – Section 99 (rectification) and Section 102 – statutory right of appeal to High Court for decisions/orders/acts of the Registrar; appeal by petition under s.102(3).
* Civil Procedure Act (Cap. 33) – Section 7(2) – limits of declaratory relief where statutory appeal mechanism exists.
* Procedure – jurisdictional challenge: fresh suit versus statutory appeal.
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27 November 2018 |
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Challenge to Registrar’s rectification required statutory appeal under the Land Registration Act, so the original suit was struck out with costs.
* Land Registration Act — rectification of land register — appeals against decisions, orders or acts of the Registrar — mandatory appeal under section 102(1) and procedure by petition under section 102(3).
* Civil Procedure Act s7(2) — limits on declaratory relief where the grievance is one for appeal; discretion to grant declarations not available where appellate remedy is prescribed.
* Jurisdiction — original suit challenging Registrar’s rectification is improper; such matters require statutory appeal.
* Suit struck out for lack of jurisdiction to entertain original proceedings where appeal route is available.
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27 November 2018 |
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Conviction for gang armed robbery upheld: identification, recent possession and admissible caution statements proved guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
* Criminal law – Gang armed robbery – Visual identification in daylight; proximity, prior acquaintance and immediate arrest.
* Criminal procedure – Reasoned judgment – requirement to evaluate defence evidence; judgement must show consideration of all material evidence.
* Evidence – Recent possession doctrine and chain of custody established by seizure certificates.
* Evidence – Minor contradictions curable under section 388 CPA.
* Criminal procedure – Caution statements – compliance with sections 50 and 51(1) CPA; admissibility and timing.
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26 November 2018 |
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Advocate's negligent advice does not justify extension of time; alleged illegality must appear on the face of the record.
Matrimonial property — application for extension of time to appeal — discretion to extend time — negligence of counsel not sufficient excuse — illegality as ground for extension only if on the face of the record — duty to account for all periods of delay (Lyamuya).
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26 November 2018 |
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26 November 2018 |
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Appellant failed to prove breach of a film-production contract; the appeal is dismissed and no costs awarded.
Contract law – breach of contract – proof on balance of probabilities – credibility of witnesses – ambiguity in contract terms – failure to complete performance due to lack of funds – remedy: appeal dismissed, no costs.
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26 November 2018 |
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Closure notice stopped new orders but did not cancel prior orders; appellant failed to prove post-closure deliveries or unpaid pre-closure invoices.
Contract — effect of notice of closure on pre-existing purchase orders; burden of proving delivery — requirement for delivery notes or receiving officers; evidential value of adverse party's documents; pleadings binding parties; assessment of oral testimony where original documents lost.
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26 November 2018 |
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Summary judgment for bank against borrower and guarantors for unpaid loan with contractual and post-judgment interest.
Commercial law – summary judgment – defendants' leave to appear and defend struck out as defective – summary judgment under Order XXXV r.2(2)(a) CPA and r.68(c) High Court (Commercial Division) Procedure Rules; guarantors' joint and several liability; contractual and penal interest; post-judgment interest; costs.
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26 November 2018 |
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26 November 2018 |
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Extension granted: prison transfer and alleged late service/loss of notice constituted good cause to file appeal out of time.
* Criminal Procedure Act s.361(2) – extension of time – "good cause" requirement. * Filing Notice of Appeal – no mandatory requirement to attach judgment or proceedings to a notice. * Proof of late service or loss of filed documents – contextual assessment; transfers and prison officers' handling can justify delay. * Discretionary relief – court to exercise judicially and distinguish authorities on facts.
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23 November 2018 |
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Acquittal upheld where prosecution failed to prove knowledge, intent and preliminary hearing formalities were unmet.
* Criminal law – PCCB Act s22 – use of documents to mislead principal – elements: knowledge of falsity and intent to mislead. * Criminal procedure – CPA s192 – preliminary hearing memorandum must be read over and explained to the accused; failure bars deeming facts proved. * Burden of proof – prosecution must prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt; evidentiary gaps and failure to call key witnesses undermine conviction. * PCCB Act s31 (abuse of position) and s28(1) (embezzlement) – require proof of intentional advantage and misappropriation respectively.
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23 November 2018 |
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Court corrected a drawn order under s.96 CPC and certified a point of law on witness competence in title disputes.
* Civil Procedure Code s.96 — correction of clerical/accidental slips or omissions in drawn orders; limited remedial power.
* Leave to appeal — correction of drawn order to reflect grant of leave to appeal.
* Certification of point of law — court may certify issues for the Court of Appeal where omission occurred.
* Evidence law — certified question on competence of an interested party who did not defend to testify about passing title without first proving own title.
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23 November 2018 |
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Second appeal dismissed as time‑barred; waiting for judgment copy and payment of fees do not excuse late filing.
Appeals — Time limit for appeals under s.25(1)(b) Magistrate’s Court Act — Appeals originating from Primary Courts — Waiting for copy of judgment does not extend or suspend the 30‑day appeal period — Payment for copies not good cause for delay.
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23 November 2018 |
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An applicant's leave-to-defend in a mortgage summary suit is incompetent if it cites the wrong enabling provision.
* Civil procedure – Summary suit arising from mortgage – Leave to appear and defend must be sought under Order XXXV rule 3(1)(c) (Mortgage Financing (Special Provisions) Act 2008).
* Civil procedure – Competence – Wrong citation of enabling provision renders application incompetent (court not properly moved).
* Civil procedure – Affidavit requirements – Objection that supporting affidavit contains matters not within deponent's personal knowledge (Order XIX r.3(1)) raised but not decided.
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23 November 2018 |
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Court allowed amendment of a technically defective bill and taxed costs at Tshs. 26,577,840.25, reducing excessive instruction fees.
* Taxation – Bill of costs – Compliance with Order 55 of Advocates Remuneration Order 2015 – procedural non-compliance curable where no prejudice shown; * Costs – Instruction fees – application of scale and reduction where matter did not proceed to full trial; * Attendance fees – allowance at modest fixed sums where hours not specified; * Disbursements – court fees taxed as presented.
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23 November 2018 |
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Failure to produce the statutory certificate of seizure and establish chain of custody vitiated the prosecution's case; convictions quashed.
Wildlife offences – unlawful entry and possession of government trophies; evidential foundation and chain of custody – requirement for statutory certificate of seizure (s.22(3)(ii), Economic and Organised Crime Control Act); failure to label/tender exhibits and establish custody vitiates prosecution case; burden of proof beyond reasonable doubt.
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23 November 2018 |
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An application was struck out for being incompetent due to imprecise citation of the enabling statutory provision.
Civil procedure — Probate and administration — Application for revocation of letters of administration — Wrong citation of enabling statutory provision (Section 49) renders application incompetent — Defective affidavit issue unnecessary where primary defect fatal — Application struck out.
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23 November 2018 |
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Application for extension of time struck out for procedural defects; leave granted to refile within seven days.
* Civil procedure – appeal – extension of time – requirement to lodge a Notice of Appeal before applying for leave. * Probate – non-joinder – Administrator General’s role and necessity of joining proper parties in probate-related applications. * Procedural defects – striking out defective applications; leave to refile; costs.
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23 November 2018 |
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Citation of a non-existent statutory edition is a curable error; applicant ordered to rectify summons within seven days.
Procedure — Preliminary objection — Wrong or non-existent statutory citation — Whether citation error renders application incompetent or curable — Amendment/rectification of chamber summons allowed — No order as to costs.
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23 November 2018 |
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A court lacking jurisdiction to determine land ownership renders its proceedings, judgment and decree a nullity.
Jurisdiction – land disputes – ownership and disposition of land fall within forum established by Land Act and Land Disputes Courts Act (Cap 216 R.E.2002); proceedings by a court lacking jurisdiction are nullities.
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23 November 2018 |
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Application for letters of administration struck out due to materially inconsistent affidavit undermining applicant's entitlement.
* Probate and administration – application for letters of administration – applicant’s identity and relationship to deceased – material inconsistencies in affidavit – affidavit as substitute for oral evidence – credibility and entitlement to administration.
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23 November 2018 |
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23 November 2018 |
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Application for extension of time to seek leave to appeal dismissed as applicants’ delay was not adequately explained.
Civil procedure — extension of time to apply for leave to appeal — explanation for delay — awaiting copies of judgment — filing for copies made out of statutory time — insufficient excuse. Amendment to s.47(1) LCDA — retrospective effect contested but not determined by trial court.
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22 November 2018 |
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Typographical mis‑titling of a ruling and variance with the drawn order rendered the appeal incompetent; appeal struck out.
Civil procedure – defective form of judgment/ruling – typographical error in court title – correction under sections 95 and 96 CPC – variance between ruling and drawn order – appeal incompetence – striking out of appeal.
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22 November 2018 |
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The applicant's contractual claim was time‑barred; liquidation appointment excluded time but the suit remained filed out of time.
Limitation of actions – Law of Limitation Act (Cap 89) – s3 and s22 – accrual of cause of action for contract claims – liquidation appointment as stay of proceedings excluding period from computation – preliminary objection as pure point of law.
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22 November 2018 |
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Applicant wrongly sought extension of time under the Law of Limitation Act instead of the Land Disputes Courts Act; application struck out.
* Civil procedure — Extension of time to appeal — Whether Law of Limitation Act s.14(1) may be used to extend time to appeal decisions of the District Land and Housing Tribunal; * Statutory interpretation — Where a specific statute (Land Disputes Courts Act s.41(2) as amended) provides for extension of time, general limitation provisions do not independently confer the same relief; * Preliminary objection — Competency of proceedings and striking out incompetent applications.
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21 November 2018 |
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21 November 2018 |
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An appeal lacking a valid notice of appeal is incompetent and must be struck out.
Criminal procedure – Notice of appeal – Validity and competence – Notice must be addressed/filed in respect of the court that tried the case; misaddressed or absent notice renders appeal incompetent and liable to be struck out.
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21 November 2018 |
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Voir dire abrogated; victims' ages were not proved and prosecution failed to establish rape and grievous harm beyond reasonable doubt.
* Criminal law – sexual offences – statutory/constructive rape – age of victim an essential element and must be proved by evidence; charge sheet not evidence. * Evidence – child witness testimony admissibility after promise to tell truth (voir dire under s.127(2) Law of Evidence Act abrogated by 2016 amendments). * Appeal – convictions must rest on strength of prosecution case, not weakness of defence; contradictions and gaps vitiate criminal conviction. * Criminal procedure – requirement to prove specific date/time/place where charged; failure may undermine prosecution case.
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21 November 2018 |
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Appellant's theft conviction quashed where contradictions in prosecution evidence created reasonable doubt.
Criminal law — Theft — Proof beyond reasonable doubt — Possession after taking insufficient without proof of dishonest misrepresentation — Contradictions in prosecution evidence undermine case — Benefit of reasonable doubt to accused.
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21 November 2018 |
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Contradictions in prosecution evidence created reasonable doubt, so theft conviction was quashed for failure to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
Criminal law – Theft – Standard of proof beyond reasonable doubt – Effect of contradictions in prosecution witnesses’ evidence – Benefit of doubt to accused.
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21 November 2018 |
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Failure to record reasons for transfer under section 214(1) and to inform accused vitiates the trial, warranting retrial.
* Criminal procedure – transfer of trial between magistrates – section 214(1) C.P.C. – duty to record reasons and inform accused – failure vitiates trial. * Remedy – retrial by another magistrate; revisional powers under section 373(1). * Evidence – identification by spotlight examined but not sufficiently conclusive to preclude retrial.
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20 November 2018 |
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20 November 2018 |
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Divorce for cruelty upheld; matrimonial home proceeds ordered split equally instead of 70:30.
Family law – Divorce – Grounds for divorce (cruelty) – Matrimonial property – Contribution through domestic work and improvements – Division of proceeds on sale – Sale appropriate where neither spouse can remain for best interests of children – Admissibility and weight of testimony by relatives.
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19 November 2018 |
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19 November 2018 |
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Dispute arose pre-2016 amendment: CMA had jurisdiction; arbitrator's ruling to the contrary quashed and matter remitted.
* Labour law – jurisdiction of CMA – whether public servants must exhaust internal public service remedies before instituting CMA proceedings * Public Service Act s.3 (definition of public servant) and Written Laws (Misc. Amendments) Act No.3 of 2016 (insertion of s.32A) * Fixed-term contracts and exclusion from public servant status * Temporal application of statutory amendments
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19 November 2018 |
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A defective first‑appellate judgment failing Rule 16 requirements can be quashed and remitted by the High Court.
* Civil Procedure (Appeals Originating in Primary Courts) Rules — Rule 16 — requirement that appellate judgment state points for determination, decision and reasons. * Appellate practice — where first appellate court fails to determine issues, second appellate court should not substitute itself to decide facts. * Revisionary powers — High Court may quash defective appellate judgments under s.44(b) Magistrates Courts Act and remit for fresh judgment.
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19 November 2018 |
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Appeal allowed: conviction quashed for insufficient evidence, unreliable identification and no proof of possession.
Criminal law – Burglary and theft – Identification evidence – Reliability of visual ID at night – Recent possession doctrine – Failure to tender stolen property as exhibit – Proof beyond reasonable doubt.
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16 November 2018 |
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Court granted a temporary stay of execution pending determination of an application to set aside an ex parte judgment.
Stay of execution — pending application to set aside ex parte judgment — discretion under Order XXI CPC — balance of convenience and irreparable loss — right to be heard and protection of property.
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16 November 2018 |
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Bail for manslaughter denied due to lack of reliable sureties and contradictions between affidavit and oral testimony.
* Criminal procedure – Bail – Manslaughter bailable under s.148(3) CPA – Appearance must be secured by reliable sureties per ss.148–160. * Evidentiary assertions at bail stage – Applicant cannot decide merits by alleging prosecution evidence is weak. * Contradictory affidavit and oral testimony – Inconsistency undermines bail application. * Procedural practice – Bail applications in homicide matters better filed after plea/preliminary hearing.
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16 November 2018 |
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Second appeal dismissed: respondent’s survivorship and consent-based occupancy defeat appellant’s adverse possession claim.
* Land law – locus standi – survivorship of spouse in jointly-held property – spouse entitled to claim interest after purchaser’s death.
* Adverse possession – occupancy by consent cannot found adverse possession; abandonment and 12 years' exclusive possession required.
* Appellate practice – second appeal will not disturb concurrent findings of fact absent misapprehension of evidence or miscarriage of justice.
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16 November 2018 |
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Court granted extension under s.11 AJA where a 16-day delay by an unrepresented applicant amounted to sufficient cause.
* Appellate procedure – Extension of time under s.11 Appellate Jurisdiction Act – applicant must show sufficient cause and account for each day of delay; unrepresented status may justify short delays.
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16 November 2018 |
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Court overruled objections: s11(1) AJA proper, omission of judge’s name not fatal, omnibus extension application allowable.
Practice and procedure – Extension of time to appeal – Section 11(1) AJA appropriate remedy; formality requirements for notices of appeal do not apply to chamber summonses; omission of judge’s name in chamber summons not fatal if decision with correct name attached; omnibus application permissible where prayers are related and not reserved for multi-judge determination.
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16 November 2018 |
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Cautioned statements failing section 57 procedures or four‑hour compliance are inadmissible; prosecution withdrew and accused discharged.
* Criminal procedure – cautioned statements – statutory certification, reading, signing and initialling requirements under section 57(3) and (4) – non‑compliance renders statement inadmissible.
* Criminal procedure – four‑hour rule under section 50(1)(a) and extensions under section 51 – prosecution’s burden to prove compliance.
* Evidentiary duty of recording officer to ensure and testify to lawful procedure when tendering cautioned statements.
* Withdrawal of proceedings – discharge under section 91(1) of the Criminal Procedure Act.
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16 November 2018 |
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Acquittal where medical proof of grievous injury existed but identification evidence and admissible corroboration were inadequate.
Criminal law – Attempted murder – Medical evidence (PF3) showing life‑threatening injuries; Identification/recognition evidence – need for contemporaneous description, earliest naming, and clear lighting; Admissibility – prohibition on calling witnesses whose statements were not read at committal without s.289 notice; Burden – failure to prove identity leads to acquittal.
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16 November 2018 |
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16 November 2018 |
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Plaintiff proved issuance of letters of credit but failed to show proper administration or indebtedness; claim dismissed with costs.
* Banking and commercial law – letters of credit – requirement of strict compliance and proper administration by the issuing bank. * Evidence – burden of proof in civil proceedings – plaintiff must prove letters of credit, shipping documents, invoices and payments on balance of probabilities. * Contract formation – instruction to a third party to channel payments does not necessarily create a contract between the beneficiary and the third party. * Remedies – failure to prove administration or indebtedness results in dismissal with costs.
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16 November 2018 |
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Plaintiffs' challenge to mortgage sale failed for lack of proof, but bank breached re-valuation clause and owes compensation.
* Mortgage and execution – auction of mortgaged property – adequacy of notice by newspaper publication – re-valuation clause in settlement agreement – breach for failure to re-value – measure of compensation (10% of sale price). * Inventory and movables – burden of proof to show movables remained and were wrongfully sold or withheld. * Eviction – allegation of forcible eviction rejected where debtor had notice of attachment and sale.
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16 November 2018 |
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Appellate court affirmed lower tribunals: respondent proved ownership and appellant's admission showed encroachment blocking public passage.
* Land law – boundary dispute and encroachment – planting of crops obstructing public passage – proof of ownership and possession on balance of probabilities.
* Evidence – admission in cross-examination as supporting evidence – application of Evidence Act ss.110 and 111.
* Civil procedure – second appeal – appellate review of factual findings of lower tribunals.
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15 November 2018 |