Results.
31 judgments found.
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| November 2020 |
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Appellant's challenge to defilement conviction dismissed; age, medical evidence and alibi issues found insufficient to overturn conviction.
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Criminal law — Defilement — proof of age and penetration — admissibility and sufficiency of medical report without oral evidence of examining doctor — alibi particulars and duty to investigate — effect of minor inconsistencies in prosecution evidence.
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20 November 2020 |
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Employer's failure to assess or give reasons made the termination unlawful; 36-month damages reduced to three months.
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Employment law — probation and confirmation — employer's duty to assess and notify shortcomings; wrongful/unlawful termination for failure to give reasons/notice (Employment Act s.36); distinction between termination and summary dismissal; assessment of damages for loss of employment — when courts may depart from notice period and appellate interference where award is excessive.
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20 November 2020 |
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Procedural defects in the record do not bar a Supreme Court-ordered rehearing; appeals dismissed and matter remitted for substantive hearing.
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Appeal from Subordinate Court — Supreme Court order for re-hearing — effect on requirement for leave to appeal; Record of Appeal completeness — Order 44 (Subordinate Court Rules) and Order 47 (High Court Rules); jurisdiction to hear appeal despite missing magistrate's notes; res judicata and prior High Court rulings; joinder of parties; exercise of discretion as to costs.
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20 November 2020 |
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Taxing Master must issue a certificate of taxation; absence of certificate invalidates a review application under Order 40/5 HCR.
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Civil procedure — Taxation of costs — Taxing Master must tax bill and issue certificate of taxation — Certificate is condition precedent to review under Order 40/5 HCR — No right of appeal in place of review — Taxing Master must refer legal issues to a Judge.
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20 November 2020 |
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An illegal sale of deceased's estate (without court authority) is unenforceable, but repayment claims for monies paid remain recoverable.
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Intestate Succession Act s19(2) — Sale of estate property without prior court authority renders sale null and void; High Court jurisdiction — illegality does not automatically bar restitution claims; recovery of monies paid under illegal contracts — unjust enrichment principle; pleadings and admissions; costs against legally aided parties.
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20 November 2020 |
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Appeal against 45-year sentence for incest dismissed; threats, non-consent and resulting pregnancy were aggravating factors.
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Criminal law — Incest — Consent and aggravating factors — Pregnancy as aggravation where intercourse procured by force and threats — Prevalence of offence and deterrent sentencing — Appellate review of sentence (Jutronich three-question test).
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20 November 2020 |
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Conviction for defilement quashed because a child under 14 testified without the mandatory voir dire.
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Juveniles Act s122 — mandatory voir dire for witnesses under 14; competence to testify; proof of age (parental/best evidence); admissibility of child evidence; defilement conviction; retrial ordered under s16 Court of Appeal Act.
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20 November 2020 |
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Whether a mortgagee must account differs between exercising a contractual power of sale and selling after court-ordered foreclosure.
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Mortgage law — duty to account; distinction between contractual power of sale and sale after court-ordered foreclosure; leave to appeal—section 13(2) Court of Appeal Act; quantum disputes in foreclosure proceedings.
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20 November 2020 |
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Appeal dismissed: writ commencement and commercial classification upheld; tenancy at sufferance and service issues are factual matters for trial.
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Civil procedure — mode of commencement — where statute prescribes procedure it must be followed; absent applicable statute writ of summons permissible; commercial action — Order LIII/Rule 1 — inclusion in Commercial List; factual issues (tenancy at sufferance vs caretaking) require trial; service of process properly effected; appeal dismissed.
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20 November 2020 |
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A contributor who gives notice to be heard may seek a stay of winding‑up proceedings and referral of shareholder disputes to arbitration.
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Companies law — winding up on just and equitable ground — shareholder disputes under shareholders' agreement — arbitration clause — stay of proceedings under s.10 Arbitration Act — locus of contributor who filed notice under s.60(3) Corporate Insolvency Act — arbitrability versus public policy and third‑party creditor interests.
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20 November 2020 |
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A taxing officer must halt taxation and refer preliminary legal issues to a judge; costs require an express 'taxation forthwith' order to be taxed early.
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Civil procedure — Taxation of costs; Order 62/8 RSC — 'Taxation forthwith' requirement; jurisdiction — taxing officer vs Judge on preliminary issues of law; power to halt taxation and refer issues; quashing irregularly taxed bills.
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20 November 2020 |
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Unexplained contemporaneous circumstantial evidence and odd coincidences can sustain murder convictions and common‑purpose liability.
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Criminal law — Circumstantial evidence — standard that only one inference be permissible; admissibility of electronic call records — s.8(4) ECT Act certification requirement; odd coincidences as corroboration; common purpose/joint enterprise liability.
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19 November 2020 |
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Order 14A dismissal requires a filed defence as notice of intention to defend; a conditional memorandum is insufficient.
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Civil procedure — Order 14A applications — mandatory prerequisites — notice of intention to defend requires filing a defence (Order 11 Rule 1); conditional memorandum insufficient — preliminary points of law not to be determined without compliance with procedural requirements.
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19 November 2020 |
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Default judgment entered under inapplicable rules set aside; matter remitted for trial, no need to prove defence when entry irregular.
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Civil procedure — Default judgment — Irregular entry under wrong High Court Rules (Order 12 Rules 6 & 7) — Order 12 Rule 8 requires plaintiff to proceed as if defendant had appeared — Irregular default judgment can be set aside without proving an arguable defence — Remittal for trial.
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19 November 2020 |
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Whether the respondent disclosed a reasonable cause of action challenging distraint of goods under alleged receivership.
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Civil procedure — strike out — whether writ discloses reasonable cause of action — "plain and obvious" test; Distress law — landlord's right to distrain versus rights of receiver/floating charge; receivership and priority disputes are substantive issues for trial; abuse of process threshold.
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19 November 2020 |
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Whether fatal-accident claims are time-barred where the Law Reform Act substituted a three-year limit for twelve months.
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Limitation of actions — Fatal Accidents Act 1846 — Law Reform (Limitation of Actions, Etc) Act — amendment substituting "three years" for "twelve calendar months" — interpretation of statutory time limits — effect on statute-barred defence.
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19 November 2020 |
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Appeal dismissed for failing to renew leave for judicial review under Order 53; interlocutory appeal lacked required leave.
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Judicial review — leave to apply — Rules of the Supreme Court (Order 53, Order 59) — renewal of leave before Court of Appeal within seven days — appealability of leave refusal; interlocutory orders — leave under s.23(1)(e) Court of Appeal Act; trial judge’s role on leave applications.
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19 November 2020 |
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Appellant’s violent assault causing fatal injuries established malice aforethought; provocation defence unavailable and appeal dismissed.
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Criminal law — Murder v. manslaughter — malice aforethought — proof by nature and severity of injuries; identification and witness credibility; defence of provocation (ss.205–206 Penal Code) — objective test of proportionality.
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19 November 2020 |
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Whether relatives’ uncorroborated identification was safe and whether a belated, unparticularized alibi could be rejected.
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Criminal law — Identification by relatives — When relatives’ evidence requires corroboration; Alibi — duty to raise particulars promptly; Warn and caution statements — effect when defence introduces them; Joint enterprise — liability where cumulative assaults cause death.
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18 November 2020 |
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Whether non‑matrimonial assets may be considered in post‑divorce property adjustment and maintenance and whether that legal question is suitable for determination under Order 14A.
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Family law — Property adjustment and maintenance after divorce — Distinction between matrimonial (family) and non‑matrimonial property — Whether non‑matrimonial assets are distributable — Relevance of income from non‑matrimonial assets to maintenance (s.56 Matrimonial Causes Act) — Order 14A RSC: determination of questions of law without full trial.
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17 November 2020 |
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Joinder of a parent company was improper where no evidence showed it contracted with or authorized the subsidiary's actions.
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Company law — Separate legal personality; joinder — proper test for joining a parent company; agency — no evidence subsidiary acted on behalf of parent; civil procedure — joinder set aside.
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16 November 2020 |
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Explanation of proviso suffices; alibi need not be proved by accused; prosecutrix over 14 permits conviction on uncorroborated evidence.
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Criminal law — defilement — alibi: burden to negative an alibi lies with prosecution; trial court must explain proviso to unrepresented accused but need not ensure comprehension
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Juveniles Act s122 — no corroboration required for prosecutrix over 14. Corroboration and hearsay — neighbours' statements inadmissible as corroboration; special and compelling grounds may justify conviction on uncorroborated evidence
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13 November 2020 |
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Circumstantial evidence and undisputed postmortem findings supported a murder conviction and death sentence.
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Criminal law — Circumstantial evidence — David Zulu test — sufficiency to exclude reasonable doubt; Postmortem evidence — calling pathologist; Murder — malice aforethought; Sentencing — absence of extenuating circumstances; Death penalty upheld.
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13 November 2020 |
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Appellant's challenge to a 40-year rape sentence dismissed; victim’s age and brutal conduct justified the severe sentence, ordered concurrent.
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Criminal law — Sentencing — Appeal against sentence — Application of Jutronich test — Whether sentence wrong in principle or manifestly excessive — Aggravating factors: victim’s age and brutal conduct — First offender and remorse as mitigating factors — Concurrency of sentences where offences arise from one course of conduct.
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13 November 2020 |
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13 November 2020 |
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Applicant's uncorroborated belief in witchcraft did not qualify as an extenuating circumstance; death sentence upheld.
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Criminal law — Murder — Extenuating circumstances — Belief in witchcraft must be evidence‑based to amount to provocation; premeditation, forensic evidence and inconsistent testimony may defeat such a defence.
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13 November 2020 |
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Court reduced and recalculated damages, applying weekly-rate method adjusted for currency depreciation and requiring viva voce evidence where ordered.
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Motor-vehicle negligence; assessment of damages — pain and suffering (weekly tariff v lump sum) — adjustment for currency depreciation — loss of expectation of life — loss of dependency — requirement for viva voce evidence at assessment.
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6 November 2020 |
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Whether extension of time and a stay of execution should be granted pending appeal where delay was caused by COVID‑19 and an arguable defence exists.
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Civil procedure — extension of time to appeal — stay of execution pending appeal — maintenance of status quo — amendment of memorandum of appeal permitted — COVID‑19 disruptions as acceptable explanation for delay — no order for payment into court/escrow.
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6 November 2020 |
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A default judgment cannot be entered for declaratory relief or while further particulars are pending; triable issues require trial.
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Civil procedure — Default judgment — Declaratory relief — Default judgment irregular where declaration sought; pending further and better particulars — court ought to determine particulars before default judgment; setting aside default judgment where triable issues disclosed and reasonable explanation for delay.
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4 November 2020 |
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An arbitral award will not be set aside for fraud absent distinct, material proof and a causal effect on the award.
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Arbitration — Setting aside award — Fraud, misrepresentation or serious irregularity — High/heightened burden of proof and causative link required; waiver and failure to produce evidence at arbitration preclude later challenge; courts will not act as appellate tribunals on merits or quantum.
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4 November 2020 |
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A written part-payment acknowledged by the debtor restarts limitation, so the employment claims were not statute-barred.
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Limitation of actions — accrual of cause of action — written part-payment/acknowledgement under s.23(4) Limitation Act 1939 — effect on six-year limitation period; res judicata — scope and requirements; jurisdiction — effect of arbitration to which claimant is not party; appellate procedure — issues not raised below not entertained.
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4 November 2020 |