|
Citation
|
Judgment date
|
| December 2021 |
|
|
An unwed father's prior denial of paternity and failure to assume parental duties bars inheritance absent legal recognition.
Intestate succession; putative/unwed father; parentage and legitimacy; requirement to demonstrate parental commitment or obtain declaration of parentage; biological link alone insufficient for inheritance.
|
29 December 2021 |
|
Court ordered preliminary issues under Order 14A be heard first to determine competence of application to discharge an injunction.
Civil procedure – Order 14A White Book – Preliminary issues – Notice of Motion to raise preliminary issues – Competence of application to discharge injunction – Interlocutory determination may dispose of an issue or claim.
|
14 December 2021 |
| October 2021 |
|
|
Charging order nisi granted and made absolute to enforce unpaid taxed costs against the plaintiff's registered properties.
Charging order nisi; Order 48 r6(d) HCR; enforcement of taxed costs; Order 50 r1(2) RSC/White Book procedure; execution against registered land; ex parte applications; making nisi absolute for non-attendance.
|
28 October 2021 |
|
A challenge to land re-entry after the 12-year limitation period is statute-barred, defeating any derivative title transfers.
Limitation of actions — Recovery of land — Limitation Act 1939 s.4(3) — 12-year bar — Challenge to re-entry — Order 14A and Order 33(7) application to determine legal issue — Derivative title fails where grantor's claim is statute-barred.
|
13 October 2021 |
| September 2021 |
|
|
Supplier proved delivery of stationery by LPOs/invoices; awarded K253,770 with interest and costs despite lack of registration.
Contract/Sale of Goods - Proof of delivery and payment - Sufficiency and authenticity of LPOs and invoices - Supplier registration - Procurement procedure irregularities - Quantum and interest against the State.
|
16 September 2021 |
| August 2021 |
|
|
Court refused to pierce the corporate veil or join post-judgment parties, dismissing applications for joinder and charging order.
Company law – Piercing corporate veil – Requirement of proof of intentional fraud or sham; Director's liability – Non-executive director not personally liable absent fraud; Civil procedure – Appeal from Deputy Registrar is rehearing de novo; Joinder post-judgment and charging order – impermissible without grounds to lift veil; Evidence – objection to scandalous affidavit paragraphs allowed.
|
31 August 2021 |
|
Plaintiff failed to prove driver or employer negligence, but insurer liable under a direct claim; damages to be assessed.
Road traffic accident; negligence—duty, breach, causation; evidential weight of police reports; need for expert evidence on excessive speed; vicarious liability; Section 90 Road Traffic Act—direct claim against insurer; assessment of damages; costs; leave to appeal.
|
29 August 2021 |
|
Whether unlicensed quarrying and blasting caused compensable damage to nearby properties.
Environmental law — Environmental Impact Assessment/Project Brief requirement for quarrying — mining licence identification — liability for damage from blasting — causation on balance of probabilities — injunction and compensation assessment.
|
3 August 2021 |
| July 2021 |
|
|
Stay of execution denied where appeal lacked prospects of success and sought merely to delay eviction.
Civil procedure — Stay of execution pending appeal — Appeal does not automatically stay execution — Requirement of prospects of success and risk of irreparable harm — Eviction order.
|
21 July 2021 |
|
Plaintiff failed to prove on balance of probabilities that defendant owed ZMW 19,200 for repairs or hire charges.
Motor-vehicle collision — defendant accepted responsibility and arranged some repairs — burden of proof in civil claims — requirement for expert/mechanic evidence to prove substandard repairs and quantify special damages — proof required for special loss and vehicle-hire claims.
|
9 July 2021 |
| June 2021 |
|
|
Court granted special leave to review and reopened trial to allow defendant's evidence via audiovisual technology, finding fresh evidence and no prejudice.
Judicial review (special leave) — fresh evidence — Chief Justice memorandum on application of High Court (Amendment) Rules; Civil procedure — Order XXXIX review test; Evidence — use of audiovisual technology; Adjournment discretion — pre-amendment law; Procedural default — prejudice required to deny relief.
|
30 June 2021 |
|
Applicant's review based on council minutes and receipts failed because documents were discoverable with due diligence.
Land law – review on fresh evidence – requirements: materiality, discovery since judgment, due diligence – public/council minutes and receipts – burden of proof – necessity of letters of offer for land allocation.
|
29 June 2021 |
|
A late application to call expert medical evidence after trial commencement was refused due to dilatoriness and prejudice to justice.
Civil procedure — Expert evidence — Order 38 Rules 36–37 — Leave required to adduce expert evidence; applications should ordinarily be made at summons for directions or before trial; late applications may be refused where they are dilatory or prejudicial — Costs and leave to appeal.
|
29 June 2021 |
|
Whether a prior lease binds a purchaser from a mortgagee in possession and entitlement to mesne profits for continued occupation.
Property law — Lease interpretation — Effect of sale by mortgagee in possession — Purchaser not bound by prior lease absent contractual succession; entitlement to mesne profits; pleadings requirement for statutory reliance.
|
28 June 2021 |
|
Government ban frustrated the contract; plaintiff entitled to an assessed refund, but damage claims dismissed.
Contract law – frustration by governmental ban on export; money had and received – acknowledgment of debt and evidential value; Law Reform (Frustrated Contracts) Act – recovery and allowance for expenses; damages – requirement of particularised proof; fraudulent misrepresentation – higher standard of proof.
|
21 June 2021 |
| May 2021 |
|
|
Operator compliance with emission limits does not bar nuisance liability; strict statutory liability can apply, but medical causation must be proved for personal injury.
Environmental law; private nuisance; fugitive dust emissions from cement plant; statutory emission limits not an absolute defence; strict liability under Mines and Minerals Development Act s.87(1); damages for inconvenience but no proven personal injury.
|
30 May 2021 |
|
A post-trial preliminary-issues application is incompetent; leave to file supplementary PACRA documents also refused.
Civil procedure — Preliminary issues — Order 14A RSC — must be filed before trial; Order 3 Rule 2 HCR — interlocutory relief only; Jurisdiction — challenge to re-entry under s.13 Lands Act — forum considerations; Evidence — leave to file supplementary documents — relevance and probative value; Practice Direction No.1/2002 — citation requirement does not confer jurisdiction.
|
24 May 2021 |
|
Extension of time to appeal denied where reasons were unsatisfactory and the applicant misled the court.
Civil procedure – extension of time to file notice of appeal – factors to consider: length of delay, reasons for delay, prospects of success, prejudice – applicant’s credibility and misleading the court – High Court Rules Order III r.2; Court of Appeal Act s.25.
|
21 May 2021 |
|
An erroneous survey diagram requires rectification and issuance of an amended Certificate of Title, not a varied duplicate.
Lands and Deeds Registry Act s.56(2) — duplicate Certificate must be exact copy; Land Survey Act ss.17–18 — rectification/ amended Certificate of Title where survey diagram erroneous; remedy vs. duplicate; consolidation of rectification issue in the same proceedings.
|
19 May 2021 |
|
Consent order not set aside: plaintiffs failed to plead/prove fraud or misrepresentation and their consequent claims fail.
Civil procedure – Consent order – Application to set aside for fraud or misrepresentation – Particularity in pleading fraud – Burden of proof – Interpretation of consent order terms (preferred price versus market price) – Counter-claim not prosecuted.
|
14 May 2021 |
|
Application to re-open trial dismissed; late private emails insufficient to justify re-opening.
Civil procedure — Re-opening reserved trial; inherent jurisdiction — Application must show why witness not earlier called, nature and materiality of evidence, and lack of prejudice — Late private emails from a non-party insufficient.
|
14 May 2021 |
| April 2021 |
|
|
Seller proved delivery and entitlement to payment; non‑acceptance by buyer warranted only nominal damages absent proof of loss.
Contract for sale of goods – proof of delivery; non‑acceptance of goods – breach of contract; measure of damages for non‑acceptance (contract price less market price) – failure to prove loss results in nominal damages; plaintiff’s burden of proof despite defendant’s absence; Sale of Goods Act ss.27–28.
|
28 April 2021 |
|
Payment bought the issued share capital; subsequent in‑kind subscriptions and board reconstitution were void ab initio.
Company law; share subscription; payment in kind; directors' powers; Companies Act 2017 s85 and former s216; nullity of unauthorised allotment; invalid board appointments; rectification of PACRA registers; restitution/unjust enrichment; injunctive relief.
|
9 April 2021 |
| March 2021 |
|
|
Applicants failed to prove fraudulent share transfers; respondents declared bona fide shareholders and accounting ordered.
Company law – alteration of nominal capital; share allotment and transfer; PACRA filing requirements; burden of proof in fraud allegations; distinction between shareholder transfer and removal; account and remediation for excluded directors.
|
10 March 2021 |
| February 2021 |
|
|
Minister's wide declaration of entire network as common carrier and ERB's unilateral interim tariff were unlawful and procedurally improper.
Electricity law — Ministerial power to declare common carrier under s15 — scope and purpose of "for the purposes of the Act"; limits on S.I. making; procedural fairness — s15(2) negotiation requirement; ERB tariff-setting — interim wheeling tariff, s30(1) pricing principles; illegality and proportionality in administrative action.
|
26 February 2021 |
|
Registered owner entitled to damages and mesne profits where a telecommunications tower was unlawfully sited on their land.
Property law – trespass to land; certificate of title conclusive; landlord/tenant rights and trespass by lessee; mesne profits/accounting for rentals; privity of contract and liability of purchaser of fixtures; remedies: damages, interest, costs; interlocutory injunction falls off.
|
25 February 2021 |
|
Applicant failed to prove compliance with customary-consultation requirements; court cancelled title and restored customary tenure.
Land law — Certificate of title and conversion of customary tenure; admissibility of affidavit exhibits and hearsay exceptions; Order 113 summary possession — suitability where occupants assert a claim of right; cancellation of title for failure to comply with s.3(4) Lands Act; consequences of failing to file affidavit in reply.
|
24 February 2021 |
|
Application to strike out as statute‑barred dismissed for failure to meet Order 14A’s notice‑of‑defence prerequisite.
Civil procedure — Order 14A: requirement of notice of intention to defend before disposing of questions of law; Order 33 rule 3 not a substitute for Order 14A prerequisites; Limitation Act 1939 — accrual and fraud (s.26) issues not decided where preliminary application procedurally incompetent.
|
3 February 2021 |