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Citation
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Judgment date
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| April 2020 |
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Procedural failure to consult and inspect before converting customary land rendered the allocation and its consequences unlawful; petitioners entitled to restoration or compensation.
Land law — Conversion of customary tenure to statutory tenure — Mandatory statutory conversion procedure and inspection/consultation requirements — Validity of subsequent certificate of title where procedures not followed; Constitutional and human rights — Forced eviction from customary land — Right to property, dignity, life, movement and non‑discrimination; Administrative law — Procedural irregularity and consequences for land allocation; Remedies — restoration, alternative land, compensation and environmental remediation.
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30 April 2020 |
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Plaintiff breached a time‑of‑essence construction contract; defendant validly terminated; plaintiff entitled only to assessed payment for work done.
Construction contracts – time of the essence – periodic handovers – termination for fundamental breach; implied duty to cooperate between employer and contractor; reasonable notice and termination where no express clause; assessment of payment for work done; counterclaim dismissed for want of prosecution.
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30 April 2020 |
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Court refused to strike out action for want of prosecution where missing court record caused delay and prejudice was unproven.
Civil procedure — dismissal for want of prosecution — inordinate and inexcusable delay — missing court record and reconstruction — prejudice standard — admission of liability, only quantum remaining.
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30 April 2020 |
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Court dismissed judicial review of police prosecutions, finding no proven abuse, malice or lack of reasonable suspicion.
Judicial review — prosecutorial discretion — police investigation and arrest — abuse of process — reasonable suspicion — limits to court intervention in prosecutions.
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30 April 2020 |
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Whether the respondent breached the sale contract by late payment to the bank causing recoverable exchange loss.
Contract – completion date – late payment to redeem third-party mortgage – breach; Letters of undertaking – receipt and effect; Recoverability of exchange loss under a dollar-denominated sale; Interpretation of express contractual terms and implication of terms; Equitable relief under High Court Act s.13.
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17 April 2020 |
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A defendant with a contractual interest in the subject matter is a proper party and cannot be struck out.
Civil procedure — Order XIV r.5(2) — Strike out for improper joinder — Proper party test — Legal or equitable interest in relief required — Storage contract and demurrage — Disputes on contractual links are for trial.
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17 April 2020 |
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Court held airport searches by drug enforcement officers lawful under s.25; detention for search not false imprisonment; claims and restraining order dismissed.
Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act s.25 – search and seizure powers; reasonable suspicion and random airport searches; lawfulness of body/x-ray scans; freedom of movement and false imprisonment; damages for harassment/assault; injunctive relief restraining investigations.
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14 April 2020 |
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Appeal succeeds: policy governed by yearly premium payable in instalments; fraud finding overturned for lack of pleading and proof.
Insurance law – interpretation of policy terms: yearly premium payable in installments; contract embodied in exhibited policy; fraud must be specifically pleaded and proved; remedies limited to sum assured.
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14 April 2020 |