Court of Appeal of Zambia - 2019 November

25 judgments
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Results. 25 judgments found.

25 judgments
November 2019
Dismissal was unfair due to disparate treatment and excessive sanction; costs award overturned for lack of Rule 44(1) grounds.
  • Employment law — unfair dismissal — disparate treatment in disciplinary proceedings — employer’s disciplinary code and proportionality of sanction — costs under Industrial Relations Court Rule 44(1) — appellate restraint on findings of fact (s.97 ILR Act).
28 November 2019
Court corrected a clerical error in its judgment, holding grounds 1–6 allowed and ground 7 otiose.
  • Civil procedure — correction of clerical error in judgment — Court of Appeal Rules Order 13/8 read with Supreme Court Rules Order 20/11 — amendment of inconsistent conclusion — otiose grounds.
28 November 2019
Consent judgment governed release of equipment; no separate collateral hire agreement; appeal dismissed and compensation upheld.
  • Civil procedure; Consent judgment as contractual and binding; equipment release; collateral agreement; liquidation of debt; compensation for deprivation of use; appellate review of factual findings; evidence of agreed rate (emails).
28 November 2019
Whether Section 20 of the Limitation Act bars claims brought on behalf of a deceased’s estate and justifies leave to appeal.
  • Limitation Act s20 — interpretation re claims ‘to the personal estate’ of a deceased; leave to appeal — Section 13(3) Court of Appeal Act (point of law of public importance; reasonable prospects of success; compelling reasons); accrual of cause; equitable claims and limitation; fiduciary duties under Companies Act versus limitation; fraudulent concealment (s26(6)).
21 November 2019
Contributions by family members do not alone create a constructive trust; registration and transfer documents determine ownership.
  • Property law — ownership and registration — family/constructive trust — contributions by family members; Certificate of Title and assignment as conclusive evidence of ownership; Property Transfer Tax implications for trusts; ineffective gift absent deed; fraud must be pleaded and proved.
19 November 2019
Consent judgment for trespass upheld; unpleaded assessment heads disallowed; award preserved and to be paid in equal shares.
  • Property law — Trespass and damages — Public Roads Act s48(1),(2),(4),(7) and s50 — Requirement of prior consultation before entry — Assessment of damages on consent judgment — Assessment limited to pleaded heads — Apportionment of liability and indemnity.
19 November 2019
Appellant entitled to refund and loss-of-bargain damages; limitation defence cannot be raised by court sua sponte.
  • Contract of sale of land; specific performance; limitation must be pleaded—court may not raise it sua sponte; bona fide purchaser for value without notice; restitution of purchase money and mortgage redemption; damages for loss of bargain assessed at present market value.
19 November 2019
Identification corroborated by sale of stolen goods; grievous harm not proved, death sentence substituted with 30 years.
  • Criminal law — aggravated robbery — single-witness identification — corroboration by sale of stolen property; Grievous bodily harm — statutory definition and evidential threshold; Sentencing — requirement to charge/particularise when death penalty is contemplated.
19 November 2019
Appeal against foreclosure dismissed; director status affirmed and interlocutory challenge held non-appealable.
  • Commercial law — secured facilities — mortgage and guarantees — foreclosure and sale — entitlement to interest on delinquent account — deeds of deposit as consent to security — directors’ liability for company obligations — interlocutory rulings and appealability.
19 November 2019
Tenant’s failure to oppose a statutory termination notice under the Act barred challenge and landlord recovered mesne profits.
  • Landlord and Tenant (Business) Premises Act — statutory notice to terminate — compliance with s.6(3) — s.11(1)(f) substantial works as ground for possession — mesne profits for wrongful occupation; offset for rents paid; interest on assessed sum.
19 November 2019
Police executed the search; appellant not liable for police actions; State ordered to restitute pipes and pay loss-of-use damages.
  • Search and seizure — execution by named police officers — liability for detention of seized property — complainant not vicariously liable for police actions — pleading and proof of slander — assessment of witness credibility — restitution and damages for loss of use.
18 November 2019
A bank's conditional undertaking to await third-party refinancing did not waive its enforcement rights when the financier unreasonably delayed disbursement.
  • Mortgage enforcement — writ of possession — conditional undertaking to release title pending refinancing — condition precedent not fulfilled due to unreasonable delay; waiver and estoppel — no election to waive enforcement; seizure of chattels — severable and subject to interpleader; discharge of mortgage — not justified; corporate veil — unnecessary to lift.
15 November 2019
Bank liable for debiting customer after honoring forged cheques despite no employee complicity.
  • Forgery — Handwriting expert not always required — ocular comparison and witness evidence — civil standard of proof (higher than balance but below beyond reasonable doubt) — bank pays forged cheque at its peril — customer negligence not automatically a bar to recovery.
13 November 2019
Applicant’s dismissal for negligence (failure to bank premiums) was lawful; no entitlement to suspended salaries or benefits.
  • Employment law — wrongful/unlawful dismissal — disciplinary and appeals procedure — competence to uphold negligence for failure to bank premiums — natural justice — entitlement to suspended salaries and benefits.
13 November 2019
Respondent not a bona fide purchaser where land was already registered to a prior titleholder.
  • Lands and Deeds Registry Act s33 — certificate of title; bona fide purchaser for value without notice; prior current certificate of title; Lands Tribunal judgment and rectification of title; survey/subdivision errors; challenge to erroneously issued title.
12 November 2019
Appeal dismissed: 1997 amendment not applied retrospectively; Registrar's redundancy assessment and interest award upheld.
  • Employment law — redundancy — applicable statute (Employment (Amendment) Act 1989 v 1997) — non-retrospective operation of legislation; assessment of redundancy damages — entitlement to contractual terminal benefits and personal motor vehicles; computation of interest — inflation considered via average Bank of Zambia lending rate; procedural treatment of withdrawn claims.
12 November 2019
Appeal dismissed: employer’s disciplinary process and investigations provided reasonable grounds for dismissal; co-accused was not similarly circumstanced.
  • Employment law — unfair/wrongful dismissal — disciplinary procedure — sufficiency of employer investigations; procedural non-compliance not dispositive where dismissible offence established; similarly circumstanced employees; appellate review of findings of fact.
12 November 2019
Appellant failed to prove fraud or encroachment; certificate of title remained conclusive and appeal dismissed.
  • Land law — conversion of customary land to leasehold — requirement of chief and local authority consent — Land (Customary Tenure) (Conversion) Regulations; Certificate of title — conclusiveness under s.33 Lands and Deeds Registry Act; Fraud — must be clearly and distinctly alleged and proved; Burden of proof — who alleges must prove; Re-survey — discretionary, requires evidence of encroachment.
12 November 2019
Appellate court annulled presidential recognition of an allegedly improperly elected chief and declared the appellant the rightful heir.
  • Chieftaincy succession — customary (matrilineal) descent — competency of electoral college — validity of election while dispute pending — presidential recognition under Chiefs Act — probative value of family trees and colonial tour reports.
10 November 2019
Judicial review dismissed: bidder selection was not irrational, illegal, or procedurally improper; appeal dismissed with costs.
  • Administrative law — Judicial review — Grounds: illegality, Wednesbury unreasonableness and procedural impropriety; procurement/sale of public land — evaluation process and evidence — non-production of committee minutes not fatal.
8 November 2019
Failure to file the record and heads within 60 days without leave results in dismissal for want of prosecution.
  • Civil procedure — appeal procedure — failure to file record of appeal and heads of argument within 60 days (Order 10 Rules 6 & 7) — no leave sought to file out of time — dismissal for want of prosecution — discretion to regularize limited by compliance with rules.
8 November 2019
Extension of time granted where delay in obtaining typed proceedings from lower court was beyond the applicant’s control.
  • Civil procedure — Extension of time — Court of Appeal Rules Order 13 Rule 3 — Application filed before expiry of prescribed period — Delay in receipt of typed proceedings from lower court — Sufficient reason for enlargement — Lack of opposing affidavit.
1 November 2019
A Notice of Motion that omits requisite Act/Order citations breaches practice directions but can be cured by amendment.
  • Procedure — Court of Appeal Rules — Notice of Motion must indicate Act, section or Order relied upon — Practice Direction No.1 of 2002 — defective citation may justify refusal to accept filing but may be cured by amendment — preliminary point on competency of process.
1 November 2019
Related financing agreements were interconnected but the plaintiff elected to enforce the registered Charge; non‑signatories cannot invoke section 10 to stay proceedings.
  • Civil procedure — arbitration — stay of proceedings under s.10 Arbitration Act — whether dispute arises under charge or agreements with arbitration clauses — effect of privity: non‑parties cannot invoke s.10 — related documents and elected remedy; constructive trust/ conversion not argued below.
1 November 2019
Sales and allocations of land in a statutory improvement area without council/ministerial authority are illegal and unenforceable.
  • Land law — vested ownership in the President — alienation and subdivision in improvement areas — council and ministerial approval required; Illegality of private sales by youths/MP; Statute of Frauds — writing/memorandum requirement for land dealings; Unenforceability of contracts tainted by illegality; Demolition of unlawfully erected structures — no compensation where title invalid; Appellate review of factual findings.
1 November 2019