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Citation
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Judgment date
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| December 2022 |
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Applicant failed to reclaim land registered in the first respondent’s name that was validly sold to the second respondent.
Land law – residential licence – s.23(1) Land Act – licence confers right of occupation and evidences ownership-related rights.* Property transfer – sale by registered licence-holder to third party – nemo dat quod non habet principles and rightful acquisition by purchaser for value.* Evidence – burden of proof in civil matters and credibility assessment (Hemed Said v Mbilu).* Procedural – ex parte continuation where a defendant fails to appear.
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23 December 2022 |
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Application for extension of time to file leave to appeal dismissed for failure to account for delay and insufficient evidence.
Land procedure – extension of time to file leave to appeal – applicant must account for each day of delay; affidavit sufficiency (first applicant deponing for others) – omnibus application and proper citation of statutory provisions – alleged illegality must appear on face of record to justify extension.
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21 December 2022 |
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Whether the applicant showed sufficient cause to extend time to appeal after delay in obtaining the certified judgment.
Civil procedure – Extension of time – Application under section 41(2) Land Disputes Courts Act and section 14(1) Law of Limitation Act – requirement to show good cause and account for each day of delay; illegality as a ground for extension considered.
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21 December 2022 |
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Registered title and survey plan prevail absent proof of unlawful registration; defendant trespassed only on plots outside the registered farm.
Land law – registered land – certificate of occupancy – prima facie ownership and boundaries (Land Registration Act). Evidence – burden of proof in civil cases – party alleging unlawful registration must prove it (s.110, s.112 Evidence Act). Land dispute – locus in quo and survey plan as determinative evidence of boundaries. Trespass – liability where occupation extends into neighbouring plots outside registered boundaries. Damages – requirement to prove loss to obtain general damages.
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21 December 2022 |
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Extension of time refused where alleged illegality was not evident on the record and delay went unexplained.
Land law — Extension of time — Exercise of judicial discretion — Requirement to show good cause — Alleged illegality must be apparent on the face of the record to justify enlargement of time — Applicant must account for days of delay.
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21 December 2022 |
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Objection proceedings under Order XXI Rule 57(1) do not remedy eviction where a prior decree declared the applicant’s title unlawful.
Land law; Execution and objection proceedings — Order XXI Rule 57(1) CPC relates to objections to attachment in execution, not eviction orders; Objection proceedings inappropriate to reopen title already adjudicated by prior decree; Proper remedy for third party affected by decree is suit or revision; Requirement to prove interest or lawful possession in objection proceedings.
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21 December 2022 |
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Leave to appeal granted over arguable irregularities in assessors’ participation and tribunal procedure.
Land law; leave to appeal under s.47(1) LDC Act – discretionary grant where arguable point of law exists; assessors’ participation and opinion; procedural non-compliance with s.23(3) LDC Act and r.19(2) GN.174/2003; failure to file submissions tantamount to failure to prosecute – matter heard ex parte.
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20 December 2022 |
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Extension of time to file review refused for unexplained multi‑year delay and failure to prove alleged illegality.
Civil procedure – Extension of time – Application under s.14(1) Law of Limitation Act – applicant must account for each day of delay. Illegality as ground for extension – Principal Secretary v Valambhia principle; illegality must concern the impugned decision and be demonstrated. Evidence – Alleged out‑of‑court deed of settlement must be proved by cogent/documentary evidence; hearsay insufficient. Relief – Discretion to enlarge time refused where delay unaccounted and illegality not established.
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20 December 2022 |
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Suit struck out for lack of jurisdiction because mandatory referral to Village Land Council under section 15(9) was not complied with.
Land law – jurisdiction – requirement to refer disputes arising from land allocated by a Village Council first to the Village Council and Village Land Council under s.15(9) Village Land Act – "shall" as mandatory – failure to comply defeats jurisdiction; preliminary jurisdictional objection may be raised at any stage if parties heard and material evidence placed before court.
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20 December 2022 |
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A revision against an interlocutory tribunal ruling is premature and barred; the application was struck out.
Civil procedure – Revision – Section 79(2) CPC (Cap.33 R.E.2019) – Revision not competent against preliminary/interlocutory tribunal orders unless they finally determine the suit; interlocutory ruling; abuse of process; abatement and substitution of parties (Order XXII CPC).
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20 December 2022 |
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Plaintiffs lawfully own the re‑surveyed plot and built per approved plans; defendants must follow legal acquisition and compensate.
Land law – right of occupancy and re-survey; road reserve encroachment due to surveying error; lawful occupation and reliance on valid building permit; entitlement to statutory acquisition procedures and compensation.
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19 December 2022 |
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An appeal against Tribunal orders vacating withdrawal and referring the matter was interlocutory and therefore incompetent, appeal struck out with costs.
Civil procedure — Appealability — Section 74(2) CPC bars appeals against preliminary or interlocutory orders unless they finally determine the suit; Bozson test for finality; Land Disputes Courts Regulations 2003 Regulation 22(d) — interlocutory orders not appealable.
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19 December 2022 |
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A defective, ambiguous Power of Attorney cannot authorize a donee to defend or testify; defendant must appear personally.
Civil procedure – Power of Attorney – validity and interpretation – ambiguity as to donor(s) – defect not minor – donee cannot represent or testify where instrument is defective; Order III Rule 2(a) CPC.
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19 December 2022 |
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The applicant failed to account for days of delay and alleged illegality was not apparent; extension denied.
Civil procedure – Extension of time – Applicant must account for each day of delay and support assertions with evidence. Technical delay – Delay in obtaining judgment copy must be proved by documentary evidence. Illegality – Can justify extension only if the point of law is of sufficient importance and apparent on the face of the record. Procedural fairness – New facts raised orally (rejoinder) not allowed where not pleaded in affidavit.
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19 December 2022 |
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An application joining an extension of time and a setting‑aside of an ex‑parte order is incompetent and struck out.
Civil procedure — Chamber applications — Omnibus applications — prayers may be joined only if interrelated; separate reliefs from different provisions cannot be lumped together — incompetence and striking out of omnibus application.
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19 December 2022 |
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High Court lacked jurisdiction because a notice of appeal rendered the matter res sub judice; suit dismissed with costs.
Res judicata / res sub judice; Section 8 Civil Procedure Code (Cap.33 RE 2019); notice of appeal pending; High Court ceases jurisdiction once appeal lodged; functus officio; execution proceedings; dismissal with costs.
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18 December 2022 |
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Court granted extension to file leave to appeal after earlier incompetent application was struck out; court was not functus officio.
Civil procedure – extension of time – section 11(1) Appellate Jurisdiction Act – application for leave to appeal after earlier application struck out for wrong citation. Competence – effect of striking out for wrong citation – struck-out application treated as if never existed; court not functus officio. Evidence – requirement to account for delay and diligence; unsubstantiated counter-affidavit allegations fail.
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16 December 2022 |
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Second appeal dismissed because new grounds were not raised in the first appeal and concurrent findings were not shown to be defective.
Civil procedure — Second appeal — concurrent findings of fact — High Court will not interfere absent misdirection, misapprehension or miscarriage of justice. Appeals — Introduction of new grounds — a ground not raised and argued in the first appeal cannot be raised in a second appeal. Evidence/ownership — failure to raise issues on first appeal bars revisiting them on second appeal.
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16 December 2022 |
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An appeal is not res judicata where a prior appeal remitted the matter for additional evidence and did not finally decide ownership.
Civil procedure – res judicata – section 9 CPC – requirements for application (Peniel Lotta test) – whether prior appeal which remitted matter for additional evidence amounts to a final decision barring subsequent appeal.
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16 December 2022 |
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Suing an estate administrator personally for estate matters defeated locus standi; tribunal’s decision quashed.
Land disputes – locus standi – suit brought against administrator in personal capacity – jurisdictional defect – District Land and Housing Tribunal misdirected; case should have been struck out; parties may institute proper representative action.
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16 December 2022 |
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A Taxing Master may tax an awarded bill of costs; challenges to an award must target the original costs order, not taxation proceedings.
Practice and procedure – Bill of costs – Taxing Master’s role is to tax costs awarded by court, not to alter substantive awards; challenge to awarded costs must be by appeal/variation of the original order – Pleadings bind parties; issues not pleaded cannot be raised at hearing – Legal aid may affect costs orders.
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16 December 2022 |
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Court granted extension of time due to delayed and erroneous supply of certified judgment copies and asserted illegality.
Land procedure — extension of time under s.11(1) AJA — accounting for delay — effect of late or erroneous certified copies — assessment of good cause and alleged illegality as special circumstance.
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16 December 2022 |
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Alleged procedural errors in execution proceedings did not amount to material error or injustice; revision dismissed with costs.
Land procedure – Revision of tribunal ruling – Alleged failure to consider affidavit; interpretation of consent settlement decree; validity of email variations; default under payment schedule; materiality of errors/injustice.
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15 December 2022 |
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Extension to appeal a review decision is misconceived because orders rejecting review applications are not appealable.
Civil procedure – Appealability – Order XLII Rule 7 CPC: orders rejecting applications for review are not appealable; extension of time to appeal against a review is misconceived; available remedy is revision.
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15 December 2022 |
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Leave to appeal granted where alleged illegality raises an arguable, important issue; defective affidavit paragraphs may be expunged.
Appellate procedure – leave to appeal under s.5(1) AJA – discretionary remedy; granted where intended appeal raises issues of general importance or arguable points. Illegality – alleged illegality in a judgment may constitute an arguable ground for appeal and is a matter for the Court of Appeal to decide. Affidavit competence – objectionable paragraphs may be expunged; remaining paragraphs can sustain an application.
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15 December 2022 |
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Application for extension of time dismissed where written submissions addressed a different case, constituting failure to prosecute.
Civil procedure – failure to prosecute – written submissions materially inconsistent with the relief sought – court may treat divergence as absence of submissions and dismiss application – extension of time under Limitation Act
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15 December 2022 |
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A representative suit was struck out for failing to sufficiently describe and identify the unsurveyed land claimed.
Land law – description of immovable property – Order VII r.3 CPC – unsurveyed land must be identified by boundaries or permanent features to be sufficiently described; Representative suits – must specify whether land is jointly owned or consists of separate parcels; Failure to sufficiently identify land prevents an executable decree and renders the suit incompetent.
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15 December 2022 |
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15 December 2022 |
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15 December 2022 |
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A bill of costs not endorsed as required by the Advocates Remuneration Order is improperly before the court and may be set aside.
Advocates Remuneration Order 2015 – Order 55(4) – endorsement of bill of costs with name and address of lodging advocate and advocate for whom he is agent. Civil procedure – failure to file written submissions as ordered – waiver and ex parte determination. Taxation of costs – procedural compliance required for bill of costs to be entertained by Taxing Master. Relief – quashing and setting aside Taxing Master’s ruling for non-compliance with Advocates Remuneration Order.
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15 December 2022 |
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High Court struck out land suit as res subjudice because trespass claim duplicated issues pending at the DLHT.
Civil Procedure – Res subjudice – Section 8 Civil Procedure Code – Bar to proceedings where matter in issue is directly and substantially the same as in a previously instituted suit between same parties. Land law – Trespass v ownership – determination of trespass dependent on prior resolution of ownership dispute. Jurisdiction/abuse of process – avoidance of concurrent proceedings to prevent conflicting decisions.
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15 December 2022 |
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Applicant failed to satisfy the cumulative injunction test; injunction refused and application dismissed with costs.
Civil procedure – interim injunction – application of Attilio v Mbowe tripartite test: prima facie case, irreparable harm, balance of convenience. Contract/loan facilities – repayment commencement where facility letter fixes instalment start date; absence of separate system-establishment notice not fatal. Mortgage enforcement – publication of auction notice following default notice; minor accounting discrepancies insufficient to found injunction.
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15 December 2022 |
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A revision against a tribunal’s preliminary objection ruling is incompetent and struck out under section 79(2) CPC.
Civil procedure — Revision — Preliminary/interlocutory decisions — Section 79(2), Civil Procedure Code — Revision not competent where decision does not finally determine the suit; Land Disputes Courts Act s43.
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15 December 2022 |
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A decree holder must exhaust statutory execution remedies before seeking arrest and detention of a judgment debtor.
Execution — Order XXI; arrest and detention as execution — requirement to exhaust alternative execution modes (delivery, attachment and sale) under section 42 Civil Procedure Code — premature application struck out.
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14 December 2022 |
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Where an appeal was dismissed by the High Court as time-barred, the same court will not grant extension of time to revive it; appeal to higher court is the remedy.
Civil procedure – extension of time – competence where appeal previously dismissed – dismissed appeals cannot be revived in the same court by an application for extension of time; proper remedy is appeal to the Court of Appeal or review/revision.* Abuse of process – attempting to resurrect dismissed proceedings by extension application barred by law.* Requirement for sufficient reasons where extension of time is sought.
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14 December 2022 |
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14 December 2022 |
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Alleged procedural irregularities not apparent on record do not justify extension of time to appeal.
Extension of time — Illegality as sufficient cause — Illegality must be apparent on face of record; procedural defects not apparent do not justify extension — Awareness of proceedings — failure to prove ignorance — District Tribunal's refusal of extension upheld.
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14 December 2022 |
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Advocate-sworn affidavits are permissible on matters of the advocate's personal knowledge, but alleged time-barred plaint did not justify extension to set aside ex parte judgment.
Civil procedure — extension of time — setting aside ex parte judgment (Order IX Rule 9 CPC) — sufficiency of cause — illegality as ground for extension — advocate-sworn affidavits — limits to matters within advocate’s personal knowledge; requirement of instruction/authority.
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14 December 2022 |
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Applicant’s hospitalization and accounting for delay justified extension of time to file reference; reference due within 14 days.
Extension of time – sufficient cause – illness and hospitalization as grounds for extension; Accounting for delay – Lyamuya principle – requirement to account for each day; Procedural – exercise of court’s discretion to grant extension despite respondents’ opposition.
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14 December 2022 |
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Sickness and accounted delay justified a 14‑day extension to file a reference; application granted without costs.
Extension of time – illness/hospitalisation as ground for extension – requirement to account for each day of delay (Lyamuya principle) – application granted without costs.
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14 December 2022 |
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High Court has pecuniary jurisdiction where the subject matter’s estimated value exceeds TShs.200,000,000 under LDCA s.37(1)(b).
Land law – Pecuniary jurisdiction – LDCA s.37(1)(b) – subject matter capable of monetary estimation – estimated value in plaint acceptable; general damages do not alone confer jurisdiction; MCA s.40(2)(a) inapplicable to non-possession claims.
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14 December 2022 |
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Apparent-face illegality is required to excuse unexplained two‑year delay for extension of time to appeal.
Land law; procedural appeals — extension of time to file notice of appeal; Appellate Jurisdiction Act s.11(1) — scope; Court of Appeal Rules — letter requesting copies governed by Court of Appeal; amendment to s.47 Land Disputes Courts Act — leave unnecessary for High Court original jurisdiction appeals; illegality must be apparent on face of record to excuse unexplained delay.
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14 December 2022 |
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Objectors failed to prove interest or possession over attached land; objection dismissed with costs.
Land — Execution and attachment — Objection by third parties under Order XXI Rule 57(1) CPC — Burden on objector to prove interest or possession at time of attachment (Rule 58) — Sale agreements executed during pendency of prior suit unsupported by sellers or local leaders insufficient — Attachment limited to property of judgment debtor (Section 48(1) CPC).
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13 December 2022 |
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Estate administration and matrimonial-contribution disputes fall within probate court jurisdiction; Land Division suit struck out.
Probate and administration jurisdiction; Land Division lacks jurisdiction over disputes about estate administration and surviving spouse's contribution; preliminary objection on jurisdiction; suit premature where probate applications and inventory issues are pending.
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13 December 2022 |
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Citing incorrect enabling provisions rendered the revision application incompetent and it was struck out with costs.
Land law — Revision of DLHT decisions — Correct enabling provision is s.43(1)(b) Land Disputes Courts Act; Wrong citation of CPC provisions (s.68(e), Order XLIII r.2) is fatal; Section 95 (inherent powers) cannot be used where a specific statutory remedy exists; Overriding objective cannot cure failure to move Court by proper provision.
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13 December 2022 |
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Where jointly‑filed plaintiffs disagree on pleading amendments, the court struck out the suit to allow separate actions.
Civil procedure – Joinder of plaintiffs – Divergent interests among co‑plaintiffs – Joint prosecution untenable where some plaintiffs seek amendments while others oppose. Civil procedure – Amendment of pleadings – Court cannot properly allow amendment for a subset of jointly‑filed plaintiffs to the prejudice of others. Civil procedure – Striking out – Appropriate remedy to permit separate fresh proceedings where co‑plaintiffs’ positions irreconcilably differ.
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13 December 2022 |
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Appeal dismissed as time-barred; appellant should have applied for extension under section 20(2) CAP 216.
Land law – Appeals – Time bar – Section 20(1) Land Disputes Courts Act (CAP 216) – appeals to District Land and Housing Tribunal must be filed within 45 days; section 20(2) permits extension for good cause – where appeal out of time, applicant must apply for extension to the tribunal – failure to do so renders subsequent appeal devoid of merit.
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13 December 2022 |
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Preliminary objections overruled: limitation not established and arbitration frustrated, court retains jurisdiction.
Limitation — accrual and discovery of cause of action; exclusion of time while prosecuting related proceedings (s.21 Limitation Act; Order VII r.6 CPC); arbitration clause — enforceability and court jurisdiction where a party frustrates arbitration; stay proceedings under Arbitration Act.
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13 December 2022 |
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Plaintiff retains locus standi as administratrix and individually to challenge alleged unlawful disposition and mortgage of estate property.
Locus standi – administrator of estate – extent of powers pending completion of probate – administrator remains vested until account and closure of proceedings. Spousal interest – alleged lack of consent to disposition of estate property – personal locus standi to sue. Civil Procedure – Order XXX Rule 1 – administrator may represent beneficiaries in disputes with third parties. Preliminary objection – factual and evidentiary issues on consent not determinable at preliminary stage.
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13 December 2022 |
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Affidavit defects (hearsay, opinions, defective verification) are curable; jurat omissions not fatal; leave to file amended counter-affidavit.
Administrative law – affidavits – admissibility – hearsay, opinion and legal argument in affidavits; verification clause – necessity to specify facts based on personal knowledge versus belief; jurat of attestation – statutory requirements under Cap 12; remedy – amendment or filing of fresh affidavit where defects are curable; substantive justice versus technical dismissal.
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13 December 2022 |