Results.
535 judgments found.
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| April 2026 |
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Leave granted to seek judicial review of university suspension for alleged illegality, irrationality and procedural impropriety.
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Administrative law — Judicial review — Leave to apply — Illegality, irrationality and procedural impropriety — Order 53 RSC
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Civil procedure — Affidavit evidence — Counsel seized with conduct — Requirement to disclose source and prejudice
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17 April 2026 |
| March 2026 |
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Applicant's challenge to removal as Ngoni chief dismissed; paramount chief's customary authority upheld.
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19 March 2026 |
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A commitment letter during ongoing negotiations did not create a binding contract; claims were dismissed.
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Contract formation — Commitment letters/letters of intent — Intention to create legal relations — Certainty of essential terms — Consideration — Proof of special damages for loss of business.
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13 March 2026 |
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Plaintiffs proved false imprisonment and are awarded damages, but failed to prove malicious prosecution for lack of malice.
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Malicious prosecution — elements: prosecution, favorable termination, absence of reasonable and probable cause, malice; False imprisonment — unlawful arrest, burden of proof; Damages — general, aggravated, exemplary; Effect of defendant's default on burden of proof.
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11 March 2026 |
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The accused’s failure to restrain and comply with statutory duties for dogs amounted to manslaughter by gross negligence.
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Criminal law — Manslaughter by omission — Duty of care of animal owner; Control of Dogs Act breaches — registration, vaccination, confinement, numerical limits; Culpable/gross negligence as basis for manslaughter; Causation — but for test; Young child/tender years — not treated as trespasser; Regulatory breach elevating to criminal liability.
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11 March 2026 |
| February 2026 |
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A public body cannot itself sue for statutory surcharges; recovery of lost public funds lies with the Treasury and Attorney General.
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Public Finance Management Act s52 — surcharge of public officers; Secretary to the Treasury's power to determine loss; Attorney General's exclusive right to sue for recovery; statutory bodies as 'public bodies'; refund vs surcharge distinction; Employment Code s68(1)(f) inapplicable.
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18 February 2026 |
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The court granted leave to subpoena PACRA for company records and testimony, rejecting res judicata and timing objections.
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Civil procedure — Subpoena duces tecum ad testificandum — High Court Act s27 and High Court Rules Order III r2 — production of corporate/registration records — res judicata objection — timing of subpoenas after witness lists
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18 February 2026 |
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Plaintiffs failed to prove an accrued entitlement or legitimate expectation to discretionary 2021 bonuses; case dismissed with costs.
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Employment law — discretionary performance bonuses — eligibility criteria (company objectives, individual year‑end appraisal, ability to pay, employment at payment) — accrued rights to bonuses — payment in lieu of notice terminates employment — legitimate expectation — pleadings and admissibility of unpleaded claims.
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13 February 2026 |
| January 2026 |
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An application to strike out a director for misjoinder failed where facts did not show he acted personally rather than for the company.
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Company law — separate legal personality — corporate veil — misjoinder/striking out under Order 14 Rule 5(2) — director’s personal liability — interlocutory determination of factual questions.
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30 January 2026 |
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Whether WhatsApp service of a pre‑litigation demand letter suffices to commence proceedings under Order 6 Rule 1(d).
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Civil procedure — Pre‑litigation demand letter — Order 6 Rule 1(d) High Court Rules — Validity of service by WhatsApp — Affidavit of service as corroboration — Order 2 Rule 2 RSC (set aside for irregularity) — Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 2021 does not override Rules of Court on service.
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28 January 2026 |
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27 January 2026 |
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Court stayed proceedings pending appellate determination and held email service on a director satisfied the demand-letter requirement.
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Civil procedure — Order VI Rule 1(d) — letter of demand requirement — service by email on director valid where primary modes fail (Companies Act s34).; Enforcement — writ of fieri facias — validity and enforcement challenged in concurrent proceedings; Jurisdiction — functus officio and supervisory power of court over enforcement procedures; Abuse of process — multiplicity of actions and forum shopping; Stay — discretionary stay pending appellate determination to avoid conflicting decisions
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19 January 2026 |
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8 January 2026 |
| December 2025 |
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Whether discontinuance of judicial review must follow White Book/RSC procedure or may be effected under Order XVII HCR.
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Civil procedure — judicial review — discontinuance — applicability of Order XVII rule 1 High Court Rules versus White Book/Rules of the Supreme Court — setting aside proceedings — Order 2 RSC — inherent jurisdiction — procedure where domestic rules and English practice interact.
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31 December 2025 |
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Court grants mandamus to compel the Minister to decide the applicant's appeal within 90 days; declines to compel an immediate impact assessment.
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Judicial review — mandamus — compelling ministerial determination of appeal under s.145(1) Zambia Wildlife Act; Wildlife Impact Assessment request under s.38(1); no express statutory timeframe but duty to act within reasonable time; locus standi of public‑interest organisations; Wednesbury unreasonableness; disclosure and transparency in awarding tourism concessions.
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22 December 2025 |
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Electronic trespass via continued authorization messages upheld; deactivation ordered and K30,000 awarded; mental anguish claim dismissed.
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["Electronic trespass; trespass to chattels extended to unsolicited authorization/data messages","Authentication of electronic evidence and data messages under the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act","Trespass actionable per se; damages available for digital interference","Proof required for claims of mental anguish/nervous shock; need for credible/medical evidence","Remedy: decommissioning of credentials and award of moderate general damages"]
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18 December 2025 |
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High Court lacks jurisdiction to challenge an unappealed Local Court property settlement authorising sale; action dismissed.
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Family law — divorce and property settlement — Local Court order authorising sale — appeals procedure under Local Courts Act s56 — jurisdiction of High Court to entertain collateral challenge — sale executed by Sheriff's Office — dismissal for lack of jurisdiction
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16 December 2025 |
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Divorce granted for irretrievable breakdown; joint custody ordered prioritising children's best interests, stability, and shared access.
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Divorce—irretrievable breakdown—unreasonable behaviour; Children—best interests, continuity and stability; Joint custody—structured residence and access; Social Welfare report as material welfare evidence
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15 December 2025 |
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Divorce granted for irretrievable breakdown due to unreasonable behaviour; shared custody ordered prioritising children's best interests.
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Matrimonial Causes Act — irretrievable breakdown — unreasonable behaviour (cumulative objective test); Children's Code Act — best interests of the child; shared parental responsibility; structured residence and contact; GPS tracking and non‑consensual DNA testing as relevant conduct
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15 December 2025 |
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Court granted review for omitted evidence, confirmed primary residence with respondent, and enhanced petitioner's access.
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Review (Order 39) — omission of material evidence; Stay pending review; Child custody — best interests and continuity of care; Variation of custody — material change and access enforcement; Role of Department of Child Welfare in mediation
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12 December 2025 |
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Divorce granted where parties lived apart over two years with respondent’s consent; petitioner awarded custody on children’s best interests.
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Matrimonial Causes Act — irretrievable breakdown — Section 9(1)(d) — two years’ continuous separation and consent; cessation of marital relationship test; Children’s Code Act 2022 — best interests of the child — custody, care and access; decree nisi to become absolute
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11 December 2025 |
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Court granted divorce on respondent’s cross-petition for petitioner’s unreasonable behaviour; custody to respondent and maintenance ordered.
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Matrimonial causes — Unreasonable behaviour (Section 9(1)(b)) — Test for irretrievable breakdown — Jurisdiction — Cohabitation/resumption (Section 9(4)) — Child custody and maintenance — Children’s Code Act, 2022 — Spousal maintenance — Evidence/admissions under cross-examination
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11 December 2025 |
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Fraudulent registration of land title annulled; advocate and Registrar held liable for negligent conveyancing and failure to detect fraud.
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Land law — Fraudulent conveyance — Registered Certificate of Title cancellable for fraud; bona fide purchaser defence unavailable where fraud proved; vendor’s advocates (stakeholders) and Registrar liable in negligence for failing to verify identity and Green File records.
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9 December 2025 |
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Court ordered counsel to withdraw due to an appearance of conflict from representing a client controlled by the respondent.
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Conflict of interest; legal professional privilege; Order 33 Rule 2 (preliminary issues); Section 128 Banking and
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Financial Services Act—Bank standing in place of liquidated company; ethical duties under Legal Practitioners' Practice Rules
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5 December 2025 |
| November 2025 |
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Court awards joint legal custody, primary residence with applicant, structured access, and equal sharing of child-related expenses.
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Children's Code Act — best interests paramount — joint legal custody of unmarried parents — structured access and shared maintenance obligations
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28 November 2025 |
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Interim attachment dismissed for failure to show intent and prior request for security; interlocutory injunction granted preserving vehicles.
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Civil procedure — interim attachment under Order XXVI Rule 1 — applicant must show defendant about to dispose assets with intent to obstruct execution and must first call on defendant to furnish security; Interlocutory injunction under Order XXVII Rule 1 — test: serious question to be tried, irreparable harm, balance of convenience, clean hands; Use of RTSA vehicle registration records as lawful evidence; Preservation of assets by Sheriff pending trial
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26 November 2025 |
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Application to stay execution of writ of elegit dismissed for lack of arguable defence, inadequate explanation and unreasonable delay.
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Civil procedure — Stay of execution — Writ of elegit — Default judgment — Setting aside default judgment requires arguable defence and explanation for default — Service of process and unreasonable delay — discretionary relief.
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25 November 2025 |
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Detention upheld as justified by reasonable and probable cause; malicious prosecution claim misdirected against Attorney-General, losses unproven.
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False imprisonment — reasonable and probable cause — complainant report and medical report as justification; Malicious prosecution — proper defendant under National Prosecution Authority Act; Requirement to plead and prove special damages; Exemplary/aggravated damages — need for contumelious conduct.
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17 November 2025 |
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A titleholder cannot remove occupants from a gazetted road reserve controlled by the Road Development Agency; only occupants on the titled farm outside the reserve must vacate.
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Public Roads Act — road reserve (trunk road) — prohibition on permanent structures; Road Development Agency control and removal powers; locus standi of titleholder limited where land forms part of public road reserve; trespass and relief where occupants are outside road reserve; Environmental Management Act not pleaded.
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17 November 2025 |
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The applicant granted specific performance and a partial refund after respondents failed to facilitate subdivision numbering.
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Contract law — Sale of land — Specific performance — Vendor’s obligation to pay subdivision/registration fees — Subdivision/numbering delay at Ministry of Lands — Refund of expenses paid by purchaser — Damages for distress in commercial contracts not recoverable absent special object or oppressive conduct
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14 November 2025 |
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A ten‑year unexplained delay and repetitive applications amounted to abuse; appeal out of time denied and prior property order enforced.
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Extension of time — inordinate and unexplained delay — discretion refused; Abuse of process — repetitive re‑litigation barred; Article 118(2)(e) — does not excuse gross non‑compliance with statutory time limits; Matrimonial property adjustment — prior ancillary order final and enforceable; Prejudice and finality — successful party entitled to fruits of judgment
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13 November 2025 |
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The plaintiff succeeds: defendant breached contract by delivering a leaking roof causing damage; untested expert report inadmissible.
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Contract law — breach of contract for defective building works; standard of workmanship; admissibility and disclosure of expert evidence; proof of special damages (alternative accommodation); registration/qualification of contractor not determinative of contractual liability.
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13 November 2025 |
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Court presumed a missing person dead after 24 years, granted leave to swear death, and ordered property to revert under Bona Vacantia.
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Presumption of death — common law seven‑year rule — prolonged unexplained absence and reasonable inquiries — leave to swear death — Bona Vacantia — Order 3 Rule 2 High Court Rules
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13 November 2025 |
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Whether absence or deficient demand letter renders plaintiff's writ incompetent; court held omission non-fatal given demand and admission.
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Civil procedure — Order 6(1)(d) High Court Rules — requirement to attach letter of demand to writ of summons — mandatory language ('shall') — curability of breach — Order 33(3)/Order 14A preliminary determination — sufficiency of demand correspondence and admission of debt.
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13 November 2025 |
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A demand letter is mandatory with a writ but omissions are not fatal where the defendant knew and admitted the debt.
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High Court Rules Order 6(1)(d) — requirement to attach letter of demand to writ of summons — mandatory but some breaches curable; Order 33/Order 14A preliminary point of law; demand letter sufficiency and acknowledgment of debt.
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13 November 2025 |
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The applicant's claim failed because the respondent did not ratify the pre‑incorporation contract by ordinary resolution.
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Companies Act s.20 — pre‑incorporation contracts — ratification by ordinary resolution within fifteen months — separate legal personality — implied ratification insufficient without evidence — apportionment of liability under s.20(4) not sought/established
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13 November 2025 |
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Applicant granted summary possession based on conclusive certificate of title; adverse possession barred once title issued.
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Property law — summary possession — Order 113 Rule 1 White Book; Certificate of title — Section 33 Lands and Deeds Registry Act — conclusive evidence of ownership; Adverse possession — Section 35 — barred where certificate of title issued; Squatters — occupation without licence or consent; Relief — ejectment and costs.
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12 November 2025 |
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The court appointed the applicant guardian of the minor's estate despite a surviving parent, ordering co-trusteeship and compulsory accounting.
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Children's Code Act (ss.158-159) — Guardianship of estate distinct from guardianship of person; Intestate Succession Act (s.32) and s.19(1)(d) — duty to account; parens patriae jurisdiction; appointment of guardian of estate despite surviving parent; minors' trust account; co-trusteeship; compelled verified account; protective directions to prevent dissipation
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7 November 2025 |
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Court granted a vesting order under section 14 and ordered the Deputy Registrar to execute transfer documents for non-compliant respondents.
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High Court Act s.14 — Vesting order; nomination of person to execute conveyance where party neglects or refuses to comply with judgment; Deputy Registrar authorized to sign State Consent and Deed of Assignment; failure to complete transfer after appellate judgment.
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7 November 2025 |
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Insufficient pleading and evidence of fraud: application to pierce corporate veil dismissed, leave to appeal granted.
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Corporate veil — Piercing corporate personality — Section 175(1) Corporate Insolvency Act — Fraudulent trading — Particulars of fraud required — Dishonoured cheques insufficient to establish concealment or evasion — Alternative enforcement remedies.
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5 November 2025 |
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Whether a secured creditor may seize inventory without a court order where borrower contractually consented and recovery limited by banking law.
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Secured transactions — Collateral and inventory — Contractual consent to seizure without court order — Pleading requirements — Conversion/unjust enrichment claims — Non-performing loan: recoverable amounts and statutory cap under Banking and Financial Services Act s.110 — Movable Property (Security Interest) Act enforcement notice considered but contractual consent effective.
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5 November 2025 |
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Ex-parte injunction restraining a cooperative society's AGM discharged; member entitled to inspect records under the Act and by-laws.
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5 November 2025 |
| October 2025 |
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Informal pre-allocation agreements void; registered title protects purchaser; occupants must vacate and mesne profits accrue to purchaser.
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Land law — Government pool houses — council recommendation vs formal allocation — allocation slip required; Certificate of title conclusive absent fraud; informal pre-allocation agreement lacking consideration void; bona fide purchaser for value without notice protected; occupier improvements at own risk; eviction and mesne profits.
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22 October 2025 |
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Defendant not entitled to specific performance; caveat removed and modest payments refunded with interest.
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Property law — sale of land — Letter of Sale satisfying Statute of Frauds; Specific performance — equitable discretionary remedy — substantial performance required; Caveat — enforceable interest required to justify lodgement; Proof of damages — claimant must quantify loss.
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17 October 2025 |
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Leave granted to issue a writ of possession to enforce a consent judgment; notice requirement satisfied and COVID‑19 hardship insufficient to bar enforcement.
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Civil procedure — possession — Enforcement of consent judgment by writ of possession — Order 45 Rule 3 (White Book 1999) — Requirement of notice to person in possession — COVID‑19 hardship not automatically bar to enforcement.
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10 October 2025 |
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Failure to serve the required letter of demand on every defendant renders commenced proceedings irregular and subject to dismissal.
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Civil procedure — commencement of action — Order VI(1)(1)(d) High Court (Amendment) Rules 2020 — requirement to serve letter of demand on each defendant — failure fundamental and fatal — action struck out; leave to appeal granted.
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1 October 2025 |
| September 2025 |
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29 September 2025 |
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Registered title is conclusive; unregistered occupiers are trespassers and the register must be rectified and occupiers evicted.
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Land law — Lands and Deeds Registry Act s33 — Indefeasibility of registered title — Certificate of title conclusive absent fraud or mistake — Unregistered possession and administrative receipts do not defeat registered title — Register rectification and cancellation/amendment of overlapping certificate — Trespass, eviction and assessment of mesne profits.
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23 September 2025 |
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Interim injunction confirmed to restrain respondent's alleged defamatory publications pending trial.
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15 September 2025 |
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A failed defence and personal circumstances did not reduce moral blameworthiness; life sentences imposed for murder.
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Penal Code s.201 — murder sentencing — extenuating circumstances defined as facts diminishing moral blameworthiness — failed defence/mistake of fact not automatically mitigating — deliberate violence, abandonment and concealment preclude mitigation — life imprisonment imposed.
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9 September 2025 |