High Court of Zambia - 2020 September

36 judgments
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Results. 36 judgments found.

36 judgments
September 2020
High Court revoked void Local Court administratorship and affirmed beneficiary's ownership of devolved property, restraining administrator interference.
  • Intestate succession — Local Court jurisdictional limits — appointment of administrators void ab initio; Administrator duties — collect, distribute, render account; Beneficiary rights — property devolved belongs to beneficiary; Administrator interference — unlawful once property devolved; Distribution already effected — may be left to stand if no prejudice.
30 September 2020
Raising preliminary issues under Order 33 Rule 3 without a court order is procedurally improper; Order 14A or ordinary opposition is appropriate.
  • Civil procedure — Order 33 Rule 3 — preliminary issues — requirement of a court order/leave to try issues; Order 14A as appropriate procedure — arbitration clause applicability — retrospective operation of arbitration agreements.
30 September 2020
Ex parte interim injunction to restrain collection of Agro VISA Cards denied because damages were an adequate remedy.
  • Interim injunction — requirements: serious question to be tried; adequacy of damages; balance of convenience — ex parte injunction denied where plaintiff’s claim for damages makes monetary relief adequate pending trial — dispute over collection/withholding of Agro VISA Cards.
30 September 2020
Possession and payment of rent can establish a tenancy despite a written lease lacking an express commencement date.
  • Rent law — requirements of a valid lease — commencement date — effect of absence of express commencement date — possession and payment of rent can create periodic/statutory tenancy — supervisory jurisdiction — limits of appellate review.
30 September 2020
Bank judgment for loan recovery: primary third‑party mortgage enforced; some supplemental charges found forged and void.
  • Commercial law — Mortgage action — Third‑party mortgage enforceability — Misrepresentation — Handwriting expert evidence and forgery — Bank's duty to advise surety — Foreclosure and cumulative remedies.
30 September 2020
Mortgagee entitled to debt and contractual compound interest; mortgagor failed to prove rental and sale receipts that would reduce indebtedness.
  • Mortgage debt — default — mortgagee entitled to payment of monies and contractual interest; accounting for rents and sale proceeds; validity of contractual compound interest; evidentiary burden to prove recovered sums.
30 September 2020
Appeal against trespass finding dismissed; court affirmed reliance on Surveyor General's survey and balance of probabilities.
  • Civil procedure — trespass and ejection — boundary disputes — standard of proof on a balance of probabilities — weight and credibility of evidence — primacy of Surveyor General's survey evidence over unapproved local site plans.
29 September 2020
Borrower owes post-sale loan balance; lender liable for unreturned empty grain bags; theft and overpayment claims dismissed.
  • Contract law — secured loan — enforcement of security — costs incidental to realization of security (transport and weighbridge) recoverable; Evidence — insufficiency of proof for theft and overpayment claims; Property/contractual incident — liability for unreturned packaging (empty grain bags).
28 September 2020
Court confirmed a varied Mareva injunction pending appeal but declined it as originally drafted, finding no solid current risk of dissipation.
  • Mareva injunction; freezing order; ex parte duty of full and frank disclosure; variation/discharge of interlocutory injunction; 'real risk' of asset dissipation; ordinary‑course‑of‑business exception; post‑judgment relief pending appeal; foreign defendant and enforcement risk.
22 September 2020
Registrar exceeded powers by cancelling a Certificate of Title under s11(1); cancellation was ultra vires and is set aside.
  • Land law — Registrar’s powers — Section 11(1) Lands and Deeds Registry Act limits Registrar to correcting register errors and does not permit cancellation of Certificates of Title; cancellation is for the courts; jurisdiction to appeal Registrar’s decisions under Sections 87 and 89; limitation bars stale claims to recover land.
21 September 2020
Third-party mortgage upheld; later further charge and guarantee found forged and unenforceable; bank entitled to judgment and foreclosure.
  • Mortgage action — third-party mortgage enforceability — misrepresentation — handwriting expert evidence — validity of further charge and deed of guarantee — bank's duty to advise surety — foreclosure and cumulative remedies.
20 September 2020
No valid variation excusing hire payments; court awarded outstanding hire fees, interest and costs.
  • Contract variation — hire of equipment — mutual agreement required for variation; standard terms (Clause 6) require credit note for deductions — set‑off and payments must be proved by contemporaneous evidence; unpaid hire fees and interest awarded.
18 September 2020
17 September 2020
17 September 2020
17 September 2020
16 September 2020
16 September 2020
14 September 2020
14 September 2020
14 September 2020
11 September 2020
11 September 2020
11 September 2020
11 September 2020
Plaintiff's late compliance triggered dismissal for want of prosecution, while defendant's third-party proceedings continue independently.
  • Civil procedure — dismissal for want of prosecution — effect of dismissal — Order for further directions — third-party proceedings survive dismissal — independent lis — fresh action not barred.
11 September 2020
Re-entry without statutory notice and opportunity to make representations is invalid; title restored to the applicant.
  • Land law — Re-entry/repossession — Section 13 Lands Act — Requirement of breach, three-month notice and opportunity to make representations — Land register printout insufficient to validate re-entry — Invalid dispossession vitiates subsequent transfer.
10 September 2020
Respondent's retaliatory conduct insufficient for divorce, but petitioner's neglect caused irretrievable breakdown; decree nisi granted.
  • Family law — Divorce — Irretrievable breakdown — Section 9(1)(b) unreasonable behaviour — Section 9(2) inquiry — Section 23 respondent relief — credibility and unpleaded evidence — custody and maintenance reserved.
10 September 2020
10 September 2020
9 September 2020
Joinder under Order 14 Rule 5(1) requires a demonstrated interest or likely affectedness; absent that, application dismissed.
  • Civil procedure — Joinder under Order 14 Rule 5(1) — Requirement that proposed party have an interest in the subject-matter or be likely affected by outcome — Survey evidence and Lands Register — Effectual and complete adjudication without joinder.
9 September 2020
Preliminary objection dismissed: plaintiff has a cause of action, claim not time‑barred, and no multiplicity or res judicata.
  • Civil procedure — preliminary issues — cause of action — statutory limitation for simple contract — multiplicity of actions/res judicata — separate corporate personality.
9 September 2020
8 September 2020
8 September 2020
Court entered judgment on admission where defendant's pleadings and correspondence plainly acknowledged the debt.
  • Judgment on admission — Admission in pleadings and correspondence — Requirement that admission be clear, unambiguous and unequivocal — Counterclaim or draft forensic report does not automatically bar judgment on admission — Orders XXI HCR & Order 27 RSC.
7 September 2020
1 September 2020
1 September 2020