Court of Appeal of Zambia - 2021 January

15 judgments
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Results. 15 judgments found.

15 judgments
January 2021
Whether a consultant who failed to secure agreed fiscal incentives had performed the mandate to earn the contractual flat fee.
  • Contract interpretation — letter of mandate — scope of obligations tied to clause requiring fiscal incentives — payment clause construed as dependent on full performance; extrinsic correspondence and conduct considered but did not vary written mandate; failure to secure statutory incentives defeats entitlement to flat fee.
29 January 2021
Fixed‑term employees who accept shorter renewal contracts and interviews cannot later claim redundancy or breach absent contractual incorporation of manuals.
  • Employment law — fixed‑term renewable contracts — effluxion of time vs wrongful termination — incorporation of employee/operations manuals into contract — redundancy and entitlement to redundancy/early retirement for fixed‑term non‑pensionable employees — retrospective application of statutory redundancy provisions.
28 January 2021
Whether a verbal engagement amounted to employment; court held appellant was an independent contractor and dismissed the appeal.
  • Employment law — contract of employment v independent contractor — degree and extent of control — oral contracts and statutory record-keeping — onus of proof and credibility of witnesses.
28 January 2021
The court granted the appellant a seven‑day extension to seek leave to appeal because the judgment copy was provided late.
  • Application for extension of time — Order XIII Rule 3(1) Court of Appeal Rules — leave to appeal to Supreme Court — Section 13 Court of Appeal Act — late provision of judgment copy — sufficiency of reasons — discretion to extend time.
27 January 2021
Late delivery of the written judgment justified a seven‑day extension to file for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court.
  • Extension of time — Order XIII Rule 3(1) — sufficiency of reasons — late provision of written judgment — leave to appeal — Section 13 thresholds — premature merit assessment
27 January 2021
Sitting tenancy without an offer and VIP classification do not entitle an occupant to purchase a government house.
  • Administrative law; government housing — Civil Service Home Ownership Scheme — eligibility requires sitting tenancy plus offer; VIP classification excludes sale; necessity of offer and acceptance; appellate review of factual evaluation.
26 January 2021
Administrator ordered to render account and distribute estate; paternity established on balance of probabilities without DNA test.
  • Intestate succession — Administrator’s duty to produce inventory and render account (Intestate Succession Act s.19) — Paternity in civil claims proved on balance of probabilities; birth records and witness evidence admissible — DNA testing requires formal application and may not be insisted upon informally — Court bound by record; party’s absence or voluntary departure from court affects right to contest evidence.
22 January 2021
Administrator's sale upheld; fraud unproven; sale (not loan) enforced; damages and costs against purchaser quashed.
  • Property law — administrator's sale under Intestate Succession Act s.19(2) — bona fide purchaser — fraud allegation standard of proof — contract of sale versus loan — time of the essence and notice to complete — registration of assignments out of time — awards of damages and costs.
20 January 2021
Conviction overturned where circumstantial phone evidence admitted alternative reasonable inferences, entitling appellant to benefit of doubt.
  • Criminal law — Circumstantial evidence and inferences — Phone found in stolen vehicle — Dock identification reliability — Benefit of doubt where alternative reasonable inferences exist.
19 January 2021
Court dismissed incompetent contempt motion for multiple procedural defects, including failure to obtain leave and improper record filing.
  • Contempt proceedings — leave to commence required (Order 52 White Book) — affidavit verifying facts — compliance with Supreme Court Rules (records and heads of argument) — amendment/withdrawal and re-filing of defective records — misdescription of parties and locus standi.
18 January 2021
Stay pending determination requires plausible prospects and special grounds; third‑party fraud allegations alone do not suffice.
  • Civil procedure — Stay of execution pending determination of main cause (Order 47/1 RSC) — Discretionary power to preview prospects of success — Consent judgments — Allegations of fraud/mistake relating to third party do not necessarily vitiate consent orders — Loss of land not adequately atoned by damages.
13 January 2021
Whether registration of a tribunal's refusal of leave for derivative claims bars a parallel derivative suit as res judicata.
  • Arbitration award — derivative actions — requirement of leave/permission to continue — refusal of leave by tribunal; registration of arbitral award — res judicata and abuse of process; nominal defendant’s right to challenge derivative proceedings; privies and issue estoppel; costs to successful respondents.
13 January 2021
Registered arbitral refusal of leave to pursue derivative claims barred parallel domestic derivative litigation as abuse and res judicata.
  • Arbitration — refusal of leave to pursue derivative claims — registration of arbitral award as domestic judgment — res judicata and multiplicity of actions; Derivative actions — role of nominal defendant — standing and procedural challenges; Privity — corporate control and application of issue estoppel; Costs — entitlement of all successful respondents where action dismissed.
13 January 2021
Whether a limitation defence can be enforced where a consent judgment reserved the issue despite no formal plea.
  • Limitation Act 1939 s.2(1)(a) — six-year bar for actions on simple contract; Consent judgment — binds parties and may reserve preliminary issues for determination; Amendment of pleadings — Order 20 r.3 RSC; Pleading limitation — Order 18 r.8(1) RSC; Limitation defence may be raised by plea, preliminary issue, or strike-out as abuse/frivolous/vexatious.
12 January 2021
Unilateral reduction of severance multipliers without express employee consent invalidated the changes; appeal dismissed.
  • Employment law — Variation of terms — Unilateral reduction of severance/ex‑gratia multipliers — Requirement of express consent — Implied/acquiesced consent caution — Inclusion of allowances in terminal benefit calculations — Circulars cannot downgrade fundamental conditions without employee consent.
12 January 2021