Results.
42 judgments found.
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| November 2021 |
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Court allowed typographical amendment to appeal documents and ordered costs in the cause.
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Civil procedure — Court of Appeal Rules, Order VIII — amendment of process before conclusion of hearing; typographical correction to Notice and Memorandum of Appeal; no prejudice; costs in the cause.
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30 November 2021 |
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Applicant granted 14‑day extension to file Record of Appeal due to lower‑court administrative delay; no order as to costs.
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Court of Appeal Rules — Order X Rule 6(a) — sixty‑day period for lodging Record of Appeal; Order XIII Rule 3 — discretionary extension of time for "sufficient reason"; administrative delay in lower court registry; extension of time granted; no costs.
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30 November 2021 |
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Court upholds civil non-conviction forfeiture: vehicle used in offence was tainted and claimant lacked sufficient interest to resist forfeiture.
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Forfeiture of proceeds of crime — non-conviction civil forfeiture under ss.29–31 FPOCA — jurisdiction and mode of commencement — definition of tainted property — claimant’s sufficient legal or equitable interest and onus under s.31(2).
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30 November 2021 |
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A court may not sua sponte review and set aside its judgment without timely application, fresh evidence, and hearing of the parties.
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Civil procedure — Review of judgment — Order 39 High Court Rules — Time limit (14 days) and requirement of leave — Review sua sponte — Need for application and hearing — Fresh evidence requirement — Wrongful execution cause of action.
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30 November 2021 |
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A signed third‑party mortgage with continuing‑security clauses constituted express consent to secure subsequent loans.
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Mortgage law — third‑party mortgage — continuing security clause — express consent by mortgagor — deposit of title deeds creates enforceable security — sanctity of contract — costs follow the event.
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26 November 2021 |
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25 November 2021 |
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Claim for indemnity by an auctioneer barred by res judicata after earlier judgment finding it a contracting party, appeal dismissed.
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Civil procedure — Res judicata — Earlier final adjudication of principal-agent relationship — Auctioneer liability — Abuse of process by relitigation — Indemnity claim arising after compliance with judgment.
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25 November 2021 |
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Failure to give mandatory one-month notice rendered the inquiry order void for want of jurisdiction; appeal allowed.
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Procedure — Order 2 Rule 3 HCR — mandatory one-month notice to proceed after one year’s dormancy — failure deprives court of jurisdiction; Nullity — decisions made without jurisdiction are void; Registrar’s powers — Order 39 R.1 review limited to judges, Registrar cannot review own decision; Appeals — appellate court may consider jurisdictional point of law not raised below.
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25 November 2021 |
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Applications for leave to appeal out of time and for a stay dismissed for delay and lack of real prospects of success.
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Civil procedure — Leave to appeal out of time — Court of Appeal Rules (Order X r4(5); Order XIII r3(1)) — Extension requires sufficient reason and consideration of prospects of success; Stay of execution — discretionary, requires good and convincing reasons and balancing prejudice to judgment-creditor.
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25 November 2021 |
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The appellant cannot use review to relitigate issues beyond a limited referral; Order 39 review requires fresh material evidence.
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Intestate Succession Act s19(1)(c)(ii) — administrators’ duty to render account; Review (Order 39 HCR) — requires fresh material evidence; Scope of referral and functus officio — High Court limited to accounting; Res judicata and finality of Court of Appeal judgment.
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25 November 2021 |
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Payment in lieu of notice under the collective agreement equals notice; excessive 24‑month damages reduced to three months.
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Employment law — redundancy — clause 18 POWAGUZ — payment in lieu of notice equals notice; measure of damages for wrongful dismissal — departure from notice period requires evidence and reasons; appellate interference where discretionary award unjustified.
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24 November 2021 |
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A guilty plea is equivocal if the statement of facts conflates trafficking and smuggling and omits essential elements, rendering the conviction unsafe.
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Criminal procedure — guilty plea — statement of facts must disclose all essential elements of the indicted offence; conflation of smuggling and trafficking renders plea equivocal. Substantive law — distinction between smuggling (section 9) and trafficking (section 3) under the Anti‑Human Trafficking Act; elements and penalties differ
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Remedy — conviction unsafe; retrial ordered
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19 November 2021 |
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Appellate court upheld conviction where corroborated circumstantial evidence and odd coincidence excluded mistaken identity.
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Criminal law — Aggravated robbery — Identification and mistaken identity — Circumstantial evidence and doctrine of odd coincidence — Credibility findings of trial court — Appellate restraint on factual findings.
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19 November 2021 |
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Single-witness identification unsafe; third appellant guilty on circumstantial evidence but armed element unproven, sentence reduced.
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Criminal law — identification evidence — single identifying witness — dangers of mistaken identification and need for connecting link or corroboration; Identification parade — fairness and conduct; Circumstantial evidence — odd coincidences and inference of guilt; Armed aggravated robbery — requirement for direct evidence of firearm use or recovery; Sentencing — reduction where armed element unproven.
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19 November 2021 |
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Appeal against a 35‑year sentence for repeated defilement of a 10‑year‑old dismissed; sentence upheld despite conviction on an improperly duplicated count.
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Criminal law — Defilement — sentence — appeal against sentence — principles for interference; aggravating factors (young age, breach of trust, repeated acts); corroboration and evidence of opportunity; charging multiple counts for repeated acts.
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19 November 2021 |
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A plea asserting belief in the child's age is not evidence; accused must adduce defence evidence, and sentence reduced to 25 years.
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Criminal law — Defilement (s.138 Penal Code) — Proviso: reasonable cause and actual belief as to age — Plea versus defence evidence — Plea alone is not evidence — Accused must present defence evidence to invoke proviso — Conviction upheld where age, intercourse and identity proved — Sentence reduced from 35 to 25 years for excessiveness.
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18 November 2021 |
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Whether a juvenile's identification requires strict corroboration or may be supported by 'something more' (odd coincidences).
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Criminal law — Defilement — Evidence of juvenile witness — Corroboration under s122(b) Juveniles Act — 'Something more'/'odd coincidences' may satisfy corroboration — Admissions by accused as corroboration.
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18 November 2021 |
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Trafficking conviction quashed for lack of admissible confession and proof of weight; convicted of unlawful possession.
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Criminal law — Trafficking v possession — requirement to prove statutory weight threshold; Admissibility of confessions — accused must be asked if he objects before production; Circumstantial evidence — similarity of packaging must be particularized; Appellate review of factual findings — exceptions to upsetting credibility findings.
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18 November 2021 |
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Conviction based on uncorroborated identification by a child under 14, observed at night, is unsafe and quashed.
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Criminal law — defilement — identification by single witness — corroboration required for witnesses under 14 (Section 122 Juveniles Act) — opportunity for observation and danger of honest mistake — conviction unsafe if uncorroborated.
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18 November 2021 |
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Appeal succeeds where sentence was wrong in principle and hard labour for a female first offender was inappropriate.
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Criminal law — Sentencing — Plea of guilty and first-offender mitigation — Appellate interference where sentence wrong in principle or manifestly excessive — Misdirection by treating grievous harm as attempted murder — Hard labour inappropriate for female prisoners.
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18 November 2021 |
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Appeal against a 65-year manslaughter sentence dismissed; aggravating spousal-killing conduct justified heavy sentence.
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Criminal law — Sentencing — Manslaughter — appellate review of sentence — aggravating factors (domestic assault, luring, strangulation, concealment) — principles for interference (wrong in principle, manifest excess, exceptional circumstances) — precedents on sentencing distinguished.
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18 November 2021 |
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Appeal against defilement conviction and 35-year sentence dismissed; minor's alleged consent not mitigating and pregnancy aggravates.
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Criminal law — Defilement — sufficiency of defence explanation; Sentencing — duty to give reasons; aggravating factors: minor's pregnancy and attempted suppression; minors cannot legally consent.
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18 November 2021 |
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Conviction overturned where single interested witness lacked corroboration and trial judge misdirected on reliability of her evidence.
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Criminal law — murder conviction based on single witness with possible interest — requirement for corroboration or "something more" — failure to direct on witness' interest a serious misdirection — direct vs circumstantial evidence.
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16 November 2021 |
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Age is an essential element of defilement and must be strictly proved; medical/tactical ocular observation alone is insufficient.
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Criminal law — defilement — age as essential ingredient — requirement of strict proof by parents/guardian or best evidence; medical evidence (Tanner staging) requires explanation and cannot alone fix age in borderline cases; ocular observation and misuse of Juveniles Act s.118 in determining age; corroboration of identity where accused found with prosecutrix and medical evidence of penetration.
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16 November 2021 |
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Voluntary drinking does not automatically mitigate murder; trial court’s finding of lack of extenuation upheld and convictions confirmed.
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Criminal law — murder — intoxication as mitigation versus intoxication as defence — Section 201(2) Penal Code — drinking alone does not automatically amount to extenuation — appellate deference to trial court's findings of sobriety and intent.
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16 November 2021 |
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Conviction quashed where circumstantial evidence failed to exclude a reasonable innocent explanation for recent possession.
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Criminal law — Stock theft — Circumstantial evidence — Recent possession — Innocent receiver/mistake of fact (s.10 Penal Code) — Drawing inferences; where multiple inferences possible adopt one favourable to accused.
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16 November 2021 |
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Appeal dismissed: corroboration and 'something more' found; conviction for defilement and 30-year sentence upheld.
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Criminal law — Defilement — Corroboration under Juveniles Act s.122 — Voir dire and age threshold — Witnesses related to victim and danger of false implication — "Something more"/special and compelling grounds — Sentence upheld.
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16 November 2021 |
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Termination under a written contract by payment in lieu is lawful without a disciplinary hearing if contract terms are followed.
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Employment law — Termination of employment — Written contract — Applicability of section 26A (repealed Employment Act) to oral contracts only — Termination by payment in lieu of notice lawful if contract permits — Distinction between dismissal (disciplinary) and contractual termination.
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11 November 2021 |
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Claim for refund barred as res judicata and time‑barred; alleged late discovery of fraud did not extend limitation.
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Civil procedure — Res judicata; multiplicity of actions; abuse of court process — Limitation Act 1939 — mortgage deed as specialty (12‑year limitation) — s.26 (fraud discovery) not applicable where fraud was discoverable earlier.
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11 November 2021 |
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Refusal to adjourn was within discretion; purchaser from a fraudster did not acquire good title, so title cancelled and property reverted to the estate.
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Property law — nemo dat quod non habet — purchaser cannot acquire good title from a fraudster; Land registry — forged title and advertisement do not validate title; Civil procedure — discretion to refuse adjournment; Intestate succession — Administrator General’s sale of estate property and requirement for court order.
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10 November 2021 |
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Administrator's sale and title upheld; fraud not proved to the higher civil standard, appeal dismissed with costs.
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Conveyancing and land titles — Certificate of Title conclusive of ownership save for fraud — Allegations of fraud must be clearly pleaded and proved to a higher civil standard — Administrator's capacity to assign land — Consolidation and substitution of parties in proceedings.
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9 November 2021 |
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Retention on payroll under a collective agreement precludes entitlement to interest on delayed retirement benefits.
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Employment law — retirement benefits — Collective Agreement Clause 28.2 — retention on payroll and payment of salaries — entitlement to interest — unjust enrichment — Order 14A determination of question of law — persuasive precedent (Iness Zeko).
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8 November 2021 |
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Retirees paid salaries pending gratuity are not entitled to interest because salaries compensated delay, avoiding unjust enrichment.
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Employment law — retirement gratuity — clause providing salary continuation until gratuity paid — entitlement to interest; Order 14A — determination of questions of law without full trial; unjust enrichment/double payment; persuasive precedent (Iness Zeko); right to be heard — affidavit procedure.
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8 November 2021 |
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Whether an Order 14A application is competent where respondents filed only a conditional memorandum without a defence.
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Civil procedure — conditional memorandum of appearance — Deputy Registrar endorsement — 14-day period for intended application; Order 14A RSC — prerequisites — notice of intention to defend requires memorandum plus defence; Order 11 r.1(4) HCR — proper route to set aside writ for irregularity; jurisdiction — incompetence of proceedings renders orders null and void; remittal to High Court.
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5 November 2021 |
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A notice to raise preliminary issues is not a notice to defend; joinder after dismissal and charging a settlement require proper legal basis.
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Civil procedure — Order 14A RSC — notice of intention to defend requires memorandum of appearance and defence; preliminary issues notice insufficient; joinder after dismissal and effect of deed of novation; charging order requires proof of judgment debtor's beneficial interest.
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5 November 2021 |
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Conditional appearance prevents entry of default judgment while time to apply to set aside the writ or to file a defence subsists.
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Civil procedure — conditional appearance — effect on time to enter defence or to apply to set aside writ — plaintiff prohibited from entering default judgment during period for appearance; irregular default judgment; requirement to show defence on merits not applicable where default is irregular.
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5 November 2021 |
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Whether a court can lift its own stay and supervise a suo motu referral to arbitration when arbitration becomes impracticable.
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Arbitration clause — sua sponte referral to arbitration — stay of proceedings — inherent jurisdiction to control court proceedings — lifting a stay where arbitration fails — joinder of assignee plaintiff — interlocutory relief versus appeal.
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5 November 2021 |
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Joinder allowed: striking out a joint-venturer was premature pending interrogation of the joint venture agreement.
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Civil procedure — Joinder of parties (Order 15 Rule 6; Order 14 Rule 6) — Joint venture v partnership — Privity of contract — Whether a joint-venturer may be joined where its agreement may affect the rights of litigants.
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5 November 2021 |
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Invoking Order 14A without a memorandum of appearance accompanied by a defence is procedurally incompetent and void.
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Civil procedure — Competence of applications under Order 14A RSC; conditional memorandum of appearance — Deputy Registrar endorsement and commencement of limitation period; Order 11 Rule 1(4) HCR as proper route to set aside writ for irregularity; jurisdiction — procedural non‑compliance renders orders null and void; Corporate Insolvency Act — leave requirement (procedural issue addressed below in remitted proceedings).
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5 November 2021 |
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Failed joint-venture foundation discharged the land sales; titles revert to the applicant upon restitution.
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Land and contract law — failed joint venture/ frustration of purpose — destroyed foundation of contract; joint tenancy and severance; cancellation of certificate of title requires proof of fraud/impropriety; evidence of payment/signature disputes; restitution and reversion of land titles.
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1 November 2021 |
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Failed joint‑venture foundation discharged land sale contracts; parties restored by restitution and titles cancelled/re‑issued.
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Land law — Sale of land tied to joint venture — Failed foundation/frustration — Proof of payment and disputed signature — Discharge of contract and restitution — Cancellation and re‑issuance of certificates of title — Joint tenancy/severance issues.
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1 November 2021 |
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Administrator’s sale of intestate land without prior court authority is void; however the challenge was time‑barred under the Limitation Act.
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Intestate succession — administrator's power to sell — section 19(2) Intestate Succession Act requires prior court authority; sale without it void — Limitation Act section 2(1) six-year bar for actions on simple contract — summary disposal under Order 14A; plaintiff may not invoke Order 14A to dispose own cause — cancellation of title where transfer void for want of authority; unpleaded equitable claims not entertained on appeal.
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1 November 2021 |