Results.
2,111 judgments found.
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| November 2024 |
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Assessment of lost-business (special) damages must be evidence‑based, formulaic, and may require expert valuation; erroneous assessments remitted.
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Civil procedure — assessment of special damages (lost business profits) — requirement to calculate net monthly profit from financial statements, apply correct loss period, allow for mitigation and avoided costs, and engage expert evidence; appellate interference where wrong principle, misapprehension of facts or manifestly unreasonable award.
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19 November 2024 |
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Quantum meruit allowed recovery for services performed at request despite provider being an unregistered architect.
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19 November 2024 |
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Applicant's conduct did not amount to constructive dismissal and the six-month statutory probation limit was not breached.
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Employment law — constructive dismissal — employer conduct must amount to fundamental breach; resignation must be prompt
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Employment Code Act s27(1),(5) — probationary period limited to six months
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Damages — award set aside where foundational dismissal finding unsupported
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19 November 2024 |
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Late application to file answer denied for dilatory conduct; appeal dismissed; costs order set aside.
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Industrial relations — extension of time to file an answer — dilatory and inordinate delay — discretion requires justifiable reasons (Chiragben) — party absent at hearing: court may proceed — Industrial Relations Court Rule 44 limits costs awards.
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19 November 2024 |
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An employer’s unjustified delay and failure to attend justified proceeding in its absence and dismissal of its appeal.
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Industrial relations — failure to file answer — application for leave to file out of time — dilatory conduct — discretion to extend time requires justifiable reasons — court may proceed in absence of party aware of hearing — costs in IRD constrained by Rule 44 (unreasonable delay/misconduct).
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19 November 2024 |
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Court dismissed applicant's challenge, affirming lineage primacy and Litunga's customary supervisory installation.
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19 November 2024 |
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Whether arranging collection of goods without possession can found a lien and whether such seizure amounted to trespass and conversion.
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Property law — Trespass to goods and conversion — Lien requires actual possession — Burden of proof on claimant to prove quantity/value of goods — Instalment sale and delivery.
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19 November 2024 |
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A registered certificate of title stands absent proved procedural irregularity; appellate court will not upset trial findings of fact lightly.
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Land law — Certificate of Title — Conclusiveness and cancellation under the Lands and Deeds Registry Act; Recommendations by district council versus Commissioner of Lands; Standards for disturbing trial findings of fact; Possession, eviction and damages for trespass; Evidence assessment in land disputes.
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19 November 2024 |
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Non-disclosure of vehicle registration did not vitiate the sale; an award based on an unadmitted witness statement was set aside.
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Contract law — sale and specific performance; alleged fraudulent misrepresentation by non-disclosure of asset registration; evidentiary foundation — requirement to lay predicate for documentary/testimonial evidence; special damages — need for particularisation and proof.
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19 November 2024 |
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Appeal allowed; judgment set aside in part and remitted for a fresh, balanced accounting before a different registrar.
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Agricultural charge — duty to account — adequacy of accounting and supporting vouchers — valuation of assets and crops — Registrar vs Judge jurisdiction — distinction between judgment on assessment and accounting — remittal for balanced accounting.
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19 November 2024 |
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Issuing a summons before a formal charge breaches statutory procedure and renders the proceedings a nullity.
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Criminal procedure — sections 90(4) & 91(1) CPC — formal charge must be drawn and signed before issuing summons; Judicial review — procedural impropriety; Ultra vires acts; Jurisdiction where leave already granted.
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19 November 2024 |
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An application to try a preliminary point on stayability was dismissed because proceedings were stayed pending contempt.
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Civil procedure — Order 33 Rule 3 RSC — Preliminary issues — Whether a ruling refusing relief is stayable — Obedience to court orders pending vacation or appeal — Contempt proceedings based on disobedience of an ex parte stay order.
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18 November 2024 |
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Appeal dismissed: prolonged absenteeism justified dismissal despite procedural defects; appellant failed to prove pay, reinstatement or expense claims.
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Employment law — Police service disciplinary procedure — Absence without leave for 28+ days as prima facie evidence of intention not to return — Procedural irregularity not fatal where offence warrants dismissal — Reinstatement, salary arrears and expenses claims require proof — Appeal court reluctant to interfere with factual findings.
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18 November 2024 |
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Appellants acquitted where involuntary confessions, demonstrative evidence and an improperly tendered ballistic report left insufficient proof.
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Criminal law — admissibility of confessions and demonstrations — voluntariness — trial within a trial — circumstantial evidence — inadmissible ballistic report tendered by non-author — convictions quashed for lack of proof beyond reasonable doubt.
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15 November 2024 |
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An incoherent High Court ruling was set aside and the employment claim dismissed as res judicata; no order as to costs.
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Civil procedure — res judicata and abuse of court process — preliminary points of law — necessity for clear, reasoned rulings — appellate determination on the record due to undue delay — costs in employment disputes.
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15 November 2024 |
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Failure to hold a trial-within-a-trial is curable absent prejudice; circumstantial evidence upheld murder convictions.
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Evidence — leading and voluntariness; trial-within-a-trial; circumstantial evidence and last-seen theory; recovery of exhibits; curable irregularity absent prejudice.
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15 November 2024 |
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Conviction for defilement quashed where identity of the accused lacked requisite corroboration despite medical proof of defilement.
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Criminal law — Sexual offences — Defilement — Corroboration required of both commission and identity in cases involving young complainants — Medical evidence corroborates commission but not necessarily identity — Opportunity evidence may not suffice as corroboration.
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15 November 2024 |
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Conviction quashed and retrial ordered after defective voire dire led to exclusion of child‑witness evidence.
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Criminal law — Evidence of child witness — Voire dire — Section 122 Juveniles Act requires sufficient intelligence and understanding of duty to tell truth — Defective voire dire renders child’s sworn evidence void ab initio — Discounting child evidence may necessitate retrial; Provocation defence — cannot be determined if central evidence excluded.
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12 November 2024 |
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Appellate court upheld trial judge's discretionary refusal to order security for costs; appeal dismissed with costs.
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Civil procedure — Security for costs — Order XL r.71 High Court Rules; Order 23 r.1 RSC — Judicial discretion — Appellate interference limited — Corporate personality and adequacy of assets — Proof of residence (tenancy) — Raising new issues on appeal.
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7 November 2024 |
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7 November 2024 |
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An appellate court upheld an interim injunction protecting a disputed plant, finding damages inadequate and the appeal without merit.
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Arbitration — interim injunction — application of American Cyanamid test — irreparable harm and inadequacy of damages — prima facie findings on termination permissible at interlocutory stage — merchantability reserved for arbitration.
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5 November 2024 |
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A first offender who pleads guilty to causing death by dangerous driving should ordinarily be fined unless recklessness or aggravating factors are shown.
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Criminal law — Road Traffic Act s.161(1) — Causing death by dangerous driving — Sentencing — First offender — Plea of guilty — Fine preferred to imprisonment absent recklessness or aggravating factors; requirement for trial court to identify aggravating circumstances when imposing custodial sentence.
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4 November 2024 |
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Application to expunge affidavit passages and grant leave to appeal over refusal to allow examination of summoned witnesses in forfeiture proceedings.
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Civil procedure — Affidavit evidence — Limits on affidavits (opinion, legal argument, speculation) — Expungement under Order 41 White Book; Forfeiture proceedings — oral evidence vs affidavit procedure — legitimate expectation to call witnesses; Leave to appeal — realistic prospects of success and questions of public importance.
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4 November 2024 |
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Cause of action in land disputes accrues when the challenged certificate of title is issued, so limitation must be assessed accordingly.
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Limitation of actions — accrual of cause of action — land recovery — time runs when all material facts exist and a defendant can be sued — certificate of title issuance as triggering event — jurisdiction to dismiss on limitation requires clear entitlement.
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4 November 2024 |
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High Court lacked jurisdiction to transfer re-entry challenge; such claims must be brought in the Lands Tribunal.
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Lands Act s13(3) — certificate of re-entry — exclusive mode of commencement in the Lands Tribunal; High Court Act s13 — equitable jurisdiction; High Court Act s23(1) and High Court Rules Order 19(3)(u) — transfers within the High Court only; jurisdiction — subject-matter jurisdiction essential; forum shopping/abuse of process — discontinuance and recommencement.
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1 November 2024 |
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Applicants failed to show a point of law of public importance; leave to appeal and stay were refused.
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Appeal — Leave to appeal to Supreme Court — Section 13(3) Court of Appeal Act — Point of law of public importance — Receivership v Insolvency — Scope of third‑party fixed and floating charge — Notice of appointment limiting receiver to movable assets — Stay of execution.
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1 November 2024 |
| October 2024 |
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Court allowed the applicant's appeal because the High Court determined sua sponte legal issues without hearing the parties.
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Constitutional reference (Art.128(2)) — sua sponte determination — inherent jurisdiction vs Order 14A — audi alteram partem — locus standi — petition formalities.
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31 October 2024 |
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The applicant's dilatory conduct and failure to show sufficient cause justified refusal to set aside judgment obtained in his absence.
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Civil procedure — setting aside judgment obtained in absence — Order 35 rules 4 & 5 — "sufficient cause" — proof of service — case management and unless orders — finality of litigation — litigant dilatoriness.
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31 October 2024 |
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A garnishee order binds subsequent deposits into the same account: accruing credits may satisfy the outstanding judgment debt.
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Garnishee proceedings — third‑party debt order — Order 49 Rule 1 (White Book) — "debt due or accruing" — attachment of subsequent credits to the same account — Heppenstall distinguished — chose in action frozen for enforcement of judgment debt.
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31 October 2024 |
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Deposit of title deeds created an equitable mortgage; assigned receivables were not the sole security—appeal dismissed.
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Revolving invoice discounting facility — receivables as pledged source of repayment but not sole security — surrender/deposit of title deeds creates third‑party equitable mortgage — equity of redemption preserved — frustration not established.
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31 October 2024 |
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Specific performance and rescission are mutually exclusive; inconsistent remedies must be pleaded alternatively and the record remitted for rehearing.
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Specific performance; rescission of contract; inconsistent remedies must be pleaded in the alternative (Order XVIII Rule 15); trial court's election of remedy; defective pleadings; remission for fresh hearing.
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31 October 2024 |
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Appeal dismissed for non‑compliance with record‑of‑appeal rules where appellant delayed seeking amendment.
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Appeal procedure — defective record of appeal — non‑compliance with Order 10 Rule 9(5)(c) and 9(7) — jurisdictional preliminary objection — discretion to allow amendment — delay fatal to relief.
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31 October 2024 |
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Appellant must refund ZMW 1,220,843 taken to pay ZRA; fraud claims dismissed; costs awarded to the respondent.
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Commercial law — recovery of funds paid for release of impounded goods — payment intended for tax to revenue authority versus consultancy fee — misappropriation/repayment — proof required for fraudulent misrepresentation — costs follow the event; appellate restraint on interfering with trial judge's discretion.
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31 October 2024 |
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The appellant’s diary error was not a sufficient excuse; the application to set aside was time‑barred and appeal dismissed.
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Civil procedure — Setting aside judgment obtained in absence of a party — Order XXXV High Court Rules and Order XXXV Rules of the Supreme Court — seven‑day time limit for application to set aside — adequacy of explanation for non‑attendance — discretion to reopen trial — costs as alternative remedy.
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31 October 2024 |
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Whether a tribunal abused its discretion in ordering subpoenas absent detailed findings of disputed facts.
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Procedure — Capital Markets Tribunal — Power to subpoena witnesses and compel documents — Applicant must show contested factual issues and good reasons — Appellate review by abuse-of-discretion standard — Extempore rulings need not recite full argument if reason for decision is discernable.
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31 October 2024 |
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The appellant's contingency-fee agreement contingent on litigation recovery was illegal and unenforceable under Rule 8.
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Legal practitioners — Contingency fees — Definition and prohibition under Rule 8 of the Legal Practitioners Practice Rules — Debt-collection agreements contingent on recovery unenforceable when recovery achieved through litigation — Distinction between contentious and non-contentious business — Conveyancing and Non-Contentious Matters (Costs) Order exception requires express post-litigation agreement.
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30 October 2024 |
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Part performance and documentary memoranda can satisfy the Statute of Frauds for a land sale; vendor cannot unilaterally revise price.
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Property law — Sale of land — Statute of Frauds (Section 4) — sufficiency of memorandum and part performance; change of relationship from landlord/tenant to vendor/purchaser; vendor’s attempted unilateral price increase and demand for rent; time not of the essence in open-ended sale agreements.
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30 October 2024 |
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Return or replacement of the sold decanter was a condition precedent to payment; appeal dismissed.
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Contract/sale of shares — subject-matter (decanter) as integral asset — condition precedent to payment — interpretation of court judgments — inherent jurisdiction to clarify orders — writ of fieri facias and stay of execution.
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30 October 2024 |
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Court of Appeal set aside dismissal for want of prosecution and remitted case for trial, finding adjournment justified.
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Civil procedure — dismissal for want of prosecution — adjournment — inherent jurisdiction — inordinate delay vs. excusable absence — appellate interference with trial court's discretion — matter restored and remitted for trial.
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30 October 2024 |
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Appellant lacked standing to challenge sale under separate charging-order proceedings; appellate court affirmed trial findings and dismissed appeal.
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Civil procedure — charging orders and orders for sale — locus to challenge orders granted in separate proceedings — appellate deference to trial findings; property law — bona fide purchaser for value without notice; administrative/contractual claims — entitlement of sitting tenant to purchase; execution by charging order — procedural requirements and effect.
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29 October 2024 |
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Appeal allowed: Registrar miscalculated damages; correct judgment debt ZMW 790,023.24 with post-judgment interest at 9.5%.
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Civil appeal — assessment of damages — misapprehension of facts by Registrar — correct measure of loss is actual outlay less payments received — interest at average short-term deposit rate for assessment period; post-judgment interest at 9.5% per annum.
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23 October 2024 |
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The appellant's challenges to identification and circumstantial evidence failed; conviction and death sentence upheld.
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Criminal law — identification evidence — reliability of relative witness; corroboration not always required if danger of false implication excluded. Criminal law — circumstantial evidence — odd coincidences can produce only one reasonable inference of guilt. Criminal procedure — evaluation of alibi and investigative omissions in safety of conviction
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17 October 2024 |
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Relative's credible identification plus compelling circumstantial evidence upheld the murder conviction and death sentence.
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Criminal law — Murder; Identification by relative witness — admissibility and need for corroboration; Circumstantial evidence — odd coincidences and last-seen principle; Safety of conviction; Appeal dismissed.
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17 October 2024 |
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Appellant's murder conviction upheld: relative's identification and circumstantial 'odd coincidences' established guilt as the only reasonable inference.
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Criminal law — Identification by close relative — Corroboration of witness with alleged interest — Circumstantial evidence — 'last seen' and 'odd coincidences' doctrine.
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17 October 2024 |
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The appellant's appeal dismissed; conviction and death sentence upheld on reliable single identifying witness evidence.
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Criminal law — murder; single identifying witness; identification at night; danger of mistaken identity; alibi evidence; appellate review of credibility.
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17 October 2024 |
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A caveat requires proof of an enforceable legal or equitable interest; absent such proof, it must be removed and statutory liquidation remedies followed.
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Lands and Deeds Registry Act s76—caveatable interest; requirement of legal/equitable interest; absence of mortgage/assignment; promissory estoppel inapplicable; liquidation—statutory remedies under Banking and Financial Services Act.
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10 October 2024 |
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Respondent failed to prove the identity of plots; cancellation of the appellant's certificate of title was set aside.
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Land law — identity of land — proof of identity of parcel (Plot FS-3/F53 v Stand No. 10959) — burden of proof on claimant; Certificate of title — cancellation only on proven fraud or impropriety and proper evidence; Pleadings — relief must be supported by pleaded case; Appellate interference with trial findings of fact.
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10 October 2024 |
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Hearing an appeal without proof of service breached natural justice; appeal allowed and matter remitted to the High Court.
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Civil procedure — Service of process — High Court Rules Order 10 Rule 3 — requirement for acknowledgment or affidavit of service where default may lead to final judgment — right to be heard/natural justice — hearing in absence without proof of service vitiates decision — matter remitted for rehearing.
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9 October 2024 |
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Leave granted because non‑conviction forfeiture issues raise points of law of public importance.
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Non‑conviction asset forfeiture — admissibility of evidence from criminal investigations in civil forfeiture — burden of proof under s33 FPOCA — individual culpability — leave to appeal under s13.
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7 October 2024 |
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Whether a High Court tort claim is an abuse of process when a related labour claim is pending before the Industrial Relations Court.
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Civil procedure — multiplicity of actions and abuse of process; distinguishing labour (constructive dismissal) and tort claims; jurisdiction of Industrial Relations Court; access to justice (Article 118) — striking out as extinguishing remedy; remittal for trial.
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7 October 2024 |