High Court of Zambia - 2020

470 judgments
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Results. 470 judgments found.

470 judgments
March 2020
Unproven adultery alone does not defeat a mother's interim custody claim; the child's best interest governs.
  • Family law — Interim custody — Best interests of the child paramount — Young child's placement with mother — Unproven adultery and excommunication insufficient to deny custody — Documentary evidence requires testing — Access rights to noncustodial parent.
20 March 2020
18 March 2020
Subordinate Court lacked jurisdiction to order matrimonial property settlement absent a Local Court divorce order; judgment set aside.
  • Family law — Property settlement ancillary to divorce — customary marriage requires Local Court divorce order before Subordinate Court adjudication; Civil procedure — judgment in absence — setting aside for want of service or opportunity to be heard; Land law — certificate of title not displaced by Subordinate Court absent proper jurisdictional basis.
17 March 2020
17 March 2020
Application to restore caveat dismissed; respondents had notice and must appeal rather than seek review by another High Court judge.
  • Caveat — restoration application under Order 35 Rule 5 — service and right to be heard — ex parte removal of caveat and eviction — functus officio — High Court judges’ equal jurisdiction (s.4 High Court Act) — remedy by appeal.
17 March 2020
16 March 2020
16 March 2020
16 March 2020
16 March 2020
Court upheld jurisdiction, dismissed application to set aside originating process, and struck evidential passages from the claim.
  • Civil procedure — jurisdiction — non‑exclusive English jurisdiction clause does not oust domestic jurisdiction; Affidavit practice — prohibition of legal argument in affidavits (Order V); Writs — staleness and service (Order IX r.1); Pleadings — evidence must not be pleaded (Order 18 r.7); Originating process amendment (Order 20) and curable title defects (Commercial Division).
15 March 2020
13 March 2020
13 March 2020
13 March 2020
11 March 2020
11 March 2020
11 March 2020
11 March 2020
Membership alone does not establish sufficient interest for joinder in a leadership dispute; joinder refused.
  • Civil procedure — Joinder of parties — Order XIV Rule 5(1) HCR — locus standi — membership vs leadership disputes — necessity to effectually and completely determine issues — discretion to refuse joinder.
10 March 2020
6 March 2020
Execution must first target movable assets of judgment debtors; FIFA cannot directly execute on land and post-award interest must be properly determined.
  • Execution — Mode of execution on money judgments — FIFA unsuitable for direct execution on land; movable assets must be exhausted before resort to immovable property — Interest after award to be determined by tribunal or court — Corporate personality and alleged director conflict of interest.
6 March 2020
Court re-opened trial due to defendant’s unavailable material witnesses, finding risk of miscarriage of justice and awarding costs against the defendant.
  • Civil procedure — Re-opening trial — Discretion under s.13 High Court Act and Order 3 Rule 2 — Hearing in absence under Order 35 Rule 3 — Miscarriage of justice test — Onus on applicant — Credibility and weight of proposed evidence — Costs as compensation.
6 March 2020
Notice-to-complete not valid and vendor lacked title; specific performance dismissed, restitution of K85,961 ordered.
  • Contract law — sale of land — LAZ General Conditions of Sale: mandatory notice-to-complete procedure; service on named advocates required; Property law — nemo dat quod non habet — purchaser cannot acquire better title than vendor; Equity — unjust enrichment and restitution where contract incapable of performance.
5 March 2020
Court refused to stay proceedings for Constitutional Court referral, finding the dispute contractual not constitutional.
  • Constitutional procedure — stay and mandatory referral to Constitutional Court — interpretation of national values (morality, ethics) — lender’s reserved right to sell property without court recourse — contractual dispute versus constitutional question — High Court jurisdiction.
5 March 2020
Divorce granted where parties had lived apart for five years; joint custody ordered and each party to bear own costs.
  • Family law — Matrimonial Causes Act s.8, s.9(1)(e) — divorce ground: five years’ continuous separation; s.9(2) duty to inquire; proof of marriage s.90; children’s welfare and s.71(1)(b)(i); decree nisi; joint custody; costs.
5 March 2020
4 March 2020
Attachment of real property allowed, but sale dismissed as premature until seized personal goods are sold and proved insufficient.
  • Execution of judgment — Order XLII High Court Rules — attachment of real property — sale of real property permissible only if personal property insufficient — interpleader over seized goods — premature application for sale.
4 March 2020
A section 22(1) application challenging a business rescue resolution is not caught by the moratorium and must be commenced by originating summons.
  • Corporate insolvency — Voluntary business rescue — Section 22(1) application to set aside resolution — Distinction between a challenge to the decision and proceedings against the company — Moratorium (s25(1)) inapplicable to section 22(1) applications; Procedure — absence of statutory procedure for section 22(1) applications — Rules of the Supreme Court (Order 5 Rule 3) prescribe originating summons; Party captioning — business rescue does not transfer locus standi to administrator — no requirement to indicate 'under Business Rescue Proceedings' in pleadings.
3 March 2020
Whether failure to follow passport-release procedure justified retirement in public interest and entitlement to repatriation benefits.
  • Employment law — wrongful dismissal — retirement in public interest — disciplinary procedure and natural justice — substratum of facts to support disciplinary action — entitlement to repatriation benefits.
3 March 2020
Applicant entitled to interim injunction restraining respondents from denying access to the bus station and collecting levies.
  • Interlocutory injunction — access to public bus station — unlawful levy collection — serious question to be tried — irreparable harm — balance of convenience — failure to oppose application.
3 March 2020
Summary dismissal held unfair where employee acted on superior's instructions; entitled to pension and contractual entitlements.
  • Employment law — unfair dismissal — disciplinary procedure followed but must be supported by facts — employee acted on superior's instructions — burden on employer to prove policy and misconduct — remedies: pension and contractual entitlements; costs.
3 March 2020
Writ proper where claims exceed taxation; failure to obtain leave to serve abroad cured and retrospective leave granted.
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2 March 2020
2 March 2020
Application for leave to apply for review out of time dismissed for failing to provide a satisfactory explanation for delay.
  • Civil procedure — High Court Rules Order 39 Rule 2 — review of judgments — 14-day time limit for review applications — late applications require special leave — insufficient explanation for delay warrants dismissal.
2 March 2020
2 March 2020
Court refused consent consolidation of related suits because consolidation would alter the parties' procedural positions and set a trial date instead.
  • Civil procedure — consolidation of causes — consent order — where consolidation would alter parties’ procedural positions consolidation inappropriate; related SMAG patent/copyright and defamation counterclaim.
2 March 2020
February 2020
Court affirmed Surveyor General's demarcation as consistent with prior judgment, ordered title deeds per plan and apportionment of survey fees.
  • Land law — boundary demarcation — omission in judgment regarding retained portion — review — multiplicity of actions — reliance on Surveyor General's site plan to give effect to earlier judgment; costs apportioned for surveyor fees.
28 February 2020
28 February 2020
28 February 2020
28 February 2020
28 February 2020
28 February 2020
Interlocutory injunction granted for first plaintiff; injunction discharged for second due to Supreme Court stay.
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27 February 2020
27 February 2020
A plaintiff not party to a contract lacks locus standi to enforce it; amendment without leave cannot cure that defect.
  • Civil procedure — Locus standi — Privity of contract bars a stranger to a contract from enforcing its terms; attempted amendment/joinder without leave cannot cure lack of standing — Alleged writ irregularity immaterial where lack of standing is dispositive.
27 February 2020
27 February 2020
27 February 2020
27 February 2020
Writ of execution for disputed interest set aside; interest to be assessed and seized goods restored.
  • Execution — writ of fieri facias — irregular execution where creditor unilaterally computes disputed interest — assessment by Deputy Registrar required — restoration of seized goods or return of proceeds — costs.
26 February 2020
Plaintiff could not obtain judgment on a land sale balance without first proving title; court ordered title deduction and procedural steps to conclude dispute.
  • Contract for sale of land — requirement to deduce title before enforcing purchase price; provisions purporting to bind non-parties severed; laches and delayed prosecution; refusal of judgment on admission absent proof of ownership; procedural directions to conclude long-running litigation.
26 February 2020
Corporate veil lifted where directors used the company as a façade to defraud a creditor; directors personally liable for judgment debt.
  • Company law — separate legal personality — lifting/piercing the corporate veil where company used as façade to defraud creditors; enforcement of consent judgment; directors’ personal liability; costs and interest (LIBOR) awarded.
26 February 2020