Results.
118 judgments found.
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| December 2012 |
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Failure to comply with a condition precedent attached to conditional leave to appeal justified dismissal of the appeal and costs against the appellants.
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Civil procedure — jurisdiction — effect of filing a notice of appeal — High Court functus officio; Conditional leave to appeal — condition precedent (payment into court) — failure to comply renders appeal dismissible; Abuse of process; Costs.
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31 December 2012 |
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Appellant’s purchase of a VIP government house was irregular for lacking Secretary to the Cabinet consent and he was not entitled to purchase two houses.
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Public law/administrative procedure — Sale of government (VIP) houses — requirement of Secretary to the Cabinet declassification/consent; impropriety and evidential standard for alleged fraud in property transactions; eligibility under Civil Service Home Ownership Scheme and prohibition on double benefit.
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11 December 2012 |
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Point‑blank shooting, surrounding circumstances and post‑incident conduct upheld as sufficient to prove murder and intent.
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Criminal law — Murder — Malice aforethought established by point‑blank shooting — Circumstantial evidence and accused’s admissions sufficient absent direct ballistic linkage — Non‑production of alleged eyewitness not fatal — Post‑offence conduct admissible to infer guilt.
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5 December 2012 |
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Interlocutory injunction upheld to preserve status quo amid overlapping mining licences; appeal dismissed.
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Interlocutory injunctions — preservation of status quo — overlapping mining licences and competing interests in mine dump — balance of convenience and irreparable injury — appellate restraint from deciding merits at interlocutory stage.
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4 December 2012 |
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A missing trial judgment does not bar appellate determination where primary facts are common cause and conviction is supported on the record.
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Criminal procedure — Missing trial judgment — Appellate power to decide on verbatim record where primary facts are common cause; identification, 'red-handed' capture and recoveries; retrial inappropriate where delay renders retrial futile
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4 December 2012 |
| November 2012 |
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Application to vary single Judge’s refusal of leave to appeal refused due to inordinate delay, abuse of process and absence of exceptional circumstances.
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Civil procedure — leave to appeal out of time — Section 4(b) Supreme Court Act and Rules 48(4), 49 — inordinate delay, non‑attendance and abuse of process — discretion to vary single Judge’s ruling — de novo hearing of appeal in civil cases exceptional and not warranted.
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30 November 2012 |
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Whether appellant’s negligence, probative weight of delayed expert evidence, and adequacy of proof and assessment of claimed damages.
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Tort — Negligence: duty to keep proper look-out; Eyewitness evidence and site inspection supporting factual findings; Expert evidence — probative weight may be reduced where opinion is given long after event and based on supplied information; Proof of special damages — specific awards require clear evidential basis and may be referred for assessment.
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30 November 2012 |
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Placing an employee on leave to exhaust accrued leave and using payment vouchers did not constitute constructive dismissal or redundancy.
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Employment law — Constructive dismissal — Forced leave to exhaust accrued leave; Advertising post during leave; Payslip v payment voucher; Accrued leave commutation; Sections 26, 45, 50 Employment Act.
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14 November 2012 |
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Appeal against death sentence dismissed: mere drinking and a remote prior assault did not amount to extenuating circumstances.
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Criminal law — murder — sentence — extenuating circumstances under Section 201(2) Penal Code; distinction between drinking and drunkenness; provocation and revenge attacks; use of dangerous weapons and moral culpability.
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6 November 2012 |
| October 2012 |
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Whether presidential reappointment under Article 98(1)(b) needs National Assembly ratification and judges’ immunity from suit.
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Constitutional interpretation — literal and purposive approaches; Judicial appointments — Article 93 ratification; Reappointment under Article 98(1)(b) — presidential discretion; Judicial immunity — no personal or vicarious suits for judicial acts; Interim relief in constitutional petitions — interlocutory orders cannot decide substantive issues.
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12 October 2012 |
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Appeal against false-declaration and smuggling convictions dismissed; evidence found sufficient and sentence confirmed.
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10 October 2012 |
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Eyewitness identification in daylight upheld convictions; sentence increased for brutal aggravated robbery.
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Criminal law — Aggravated robbery — Eyewitness identification in daylight; corroboration and contradictions; circumstantial evidence; appellate interference with sentence for aggravated and violent robbery.
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10 October 2012 |
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Moderate drinking did not amount to extenuating circumstances to avoid the death sentence for three brutal murders.
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Criminal law — Murder (three counts) — Extenuating circumstances — Distinction between intoxication negating mens rea and intoxication as mitigation — Provocation and insanity considered and rejected — Death sentence affirmed
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9 October 2012 |
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Omission of statutory voire dire did not vitiate conviction where independent ocular and medical corroboration existed; sentence increased for breach of trust.
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Criminal law — Defilement — Voir dire for child witnesses under Juveniles Act — requirement to determine understanding of oath or intelligence and truth duty — corroboration for sexual offences — admissibility of perceptive vs hearsay evidence — appellate discretion to order retrial — sentencing: breach of trust as aggravating factor leading to increased sentence
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9 October 2012 |
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Appeal against convictions based on single eyewitness identification and linking evidence dismissed; convictions and sentences upheld.
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Criminal law — identification evidence — single eyewitness identification; identification parades — fairness and disguise — connecting link/"something more" — corroboration by possession of firearm and matching cartridge — aggravated robbery and attempted murder
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9 October 2012 |
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Interlocutory injunction upheld where respondent’s equitable interest and triable issues justified protection against eviction.
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Civil procedure — Interlocutory injunction — Requirement of a clear claim/triable issues and risk of irreparable harm — Locus standi based on equitable interest despite absence of certificate of title — Admissibility and effect of boundary verification by surveyors.
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5 October 2012 |
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Applicant's dismissal tied to union activity held unlawful; awarded notice pay, terminal benefits, interest and costs.
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Labour law — unfair dismissal; trade union victimization; disciplinary procedure and rules of natural justice; admissibility and interpretation of documentary evidence (inducement to leave union); remedies — notice pay, terminal benefits, interest and costs.
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2 October 2012 |
| September 2012 |
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Whether the appellant, as occupant and former employee, had a legal right to be offered the house he occupied.
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Property Law — Sale of employer housing — Sitting tenant v. licensee — Entitlement to be offered former parastatal houses
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Contract Law — Frustration — Effect of frustrated sale contract — Refund of purchase price with interest
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26 September 2012 |
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An identification parade is not mandatory in civil dismissal proceedings; sufficient investigations can justify dismissal for dishonesty.
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Employment law — wrongful dismissal; disciplinary enquiries; identification parade not mandatory in civil proceedings; standard of proof on balance of probabilities (higher cogency for serious allegations); appellate review of factual findings
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26 September 2012 |
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High Court lacked jurisdiction to challenge a certificate of re-entry; purchaser’s title upheld and fraud not proved.
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Lands Act s13(3) — statutory appeal to Lands Tribunal ousts High Court on Certificate of re-entry; jurisdictional compliance; bona fide purchaser for value; fraud requires higher standard of proof; procedural challenge to re-entry must follow statutory route.
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17 September 2012 |
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Appeal dismissed: challenge to re-entry must follow Lands Act procedure; purchaser held bona fide and no negligence or fraud proved.
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Lands Act s.13(3) — Certificate of re-entry — statutory appeal to Lands Tribunal; High Court jurisdiction; bona fide purchaser; proof of fraud; negligence of Commissioner of Lands
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16 September 2012 |
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Appeal against dismissal for payroll negligence dismissed where misconduct caused substantial loss and disciplinary procedures were followed.
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Employment law — wrongful dismissal — disciplinary procedure and s.26A Employment Act — appeal limited to points of law — findings of fact upheld — inefficiency/dishonest payroll conduct may justify dismissal where severe financial loss results
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16 September 2012 |
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Whether absence of a payment receipt renders an application void; court gave benefit of doubt and found application properly before it.
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Civil procedure — extension of time to file record of appeal — validity of process where no specific payment receipt on file — registry error and curable irregularity — benefit of the doubt to litigant
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10 September 2012 |
| August 2012 |
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Whether a challenged confession was voluntary and whether circumstantial plus juvenile witness evidence sustained murder convictions.
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Criminal law — confession: trial-within-a-trial, burden of proof and voluntariness; discretion to exclude confession; circumstantial evidence; juvenile (16-year-old) witness; alibi and prosecution’s duty to negative it
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14 August 2012 |
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The appellant’s challenge to a circumstantial murder conviction and absence of viva voce medical evidence fails; appeal dismissed.
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Criminal law — Murder — Circumstantial evidence — Reliance on post‑mortem report without viva voce pathologist — Where written medical report plus corroborative circumstances suffice — Sole access to scene; inference of guilt — Motive not essential
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14 August 2012 |
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A single reliable identifying witness and recovered property can sustain an armed-robbery conviction and mandatory death sentence.
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Criminal law — Identification by a single witness — reliability assessed by opportunity and duration of observation and connecting links; Armed robbery — proof of firearm use may rest on unchallenged witness accounts and police recovery evidence despite non-production of exhibits; Mandatory sentence — death for armed robbery involving firearm
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14 August 2012 |
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Conviction for indecent assault upheld as a cognate lesser offence to attempted rape; appeal dismissed.
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Criminal law — Attempted rape v indecent assault — Application of section 181(2) CPC permitting conviction on a cognate minor offence; fairness of trial and sufficiency of corroborative and medical evidence
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13 August 2012 |
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Unincorporated pension schemes can sue by representative capacity; delay in transfer justified award of interest as damages; compound interest requires agreement.
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Civil procedure — capacity to sue — unincorporated pension schemes and representative interest; Contract/remedies — delay in transferring funds — interest as damages for loss of use; Pension law — transfer versus discontinuance; Evidence — special damages require proof and admissible documents; Interest — compound interest requires express agreement, course of dealing or acquiescence
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13 August 2012 |
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Failure to charge does not make dismissal wrongful where employee admitted an offence punishable by instant dismissal.
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Employment law — Summary dismissal for overloading — Procedural fairness/right to be heard (Section 26A) — Internal memorandum prescribing instant dismissal — Supervisor instruction does not absolve employee.
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10 August 2012 |
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Admission of misconduct and an internal rule prescribing instant dismissal negated procedural unfairness in this dismissal.
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Employment law — disciplinary procedure and right to be heard — failure to charge or hear employee — instant dismissal prescribed by employer’s internal memorandum — supervisor’s authority versus personal responsibility of employee
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9 August 2012 |
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Appellate court upheld that respondent was wrongfully dismissed where employer failed to prove misconduct and documentary evidence was absent.
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Employment law — Wrongful dismissal — Allegation of dishonesty — Reliance on circumstantial evidence — Failure to produce disconnection order/disconnection slip — Credibility of witnesses — Appellate interference with factual findings limited to perverse or unsupported findings
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9 August 2012 |
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A non-civil servant occupying former parastatal housing is not entitled to buy government houses as a sitting tenant.
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Administrative Law — Judicial Review — Wednesbury unreasonableness and mala fides in eviction and refusal to sell government housing
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Property Law — Government Housing — Eligibility of sitting tenants to purchase; definition of "legal tenant" and requirement of government allocation evidence
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3 August 2012 |
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A local council's sand levy on crushed stones was intra vires, reasonable, and did not constitute double taxation.
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Local government by‑laws — Levy on commodities — Section 69 Local Government Act — Inclusion of crushed stones in sand levy — Wednesbury unreasonableness — Proper mode of commencement (originating summons v judicial review) — Double taxation (mining royalties v local levy) — Impoundment and injunctive relief
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3 August 2012 |
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Appellant was not a bona fide purchaser; third party had no right to sell and respondent retained ownership.
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Property law — Allocation of council house — Whether third party could pass title when not a sitting tenant — Constructive notice from tenant occupation — Bona fide purchaser inquiry
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1 August 2012 |
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A consented Surveyor-General report is binding, but courts must still adjudicate unresolved third-party indemnity claims.
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Land dispute — boundary/possession — Consent Order to admit Surveyor-General’s report — binding effect of uncontested expert survey — duty to adjudicate triable third-party indemnity claims against the State
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1 August 2012 |
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Originating summons inadequate for contested factual claims; proceedings must proceed as if begun by writ; appeal allowed.
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Civil procedure — Mode of commencement — Originating summons and affidavit evidence inappropriate for contentious factual disputes — Writ of summons required; Irregular commencement not necessarily void — proceed as if begun by writ; assessment of damages requires oral evidence (New Plast Industries applied)
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1 August 2012 |
| July 2012 |
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Whether a granddaughter classified as "issue" under the Intestate Succession Act is the eligible heir to a single-house intestate estate.
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Intestate Succession Act — eligibility of beneficiaries — "issue" and "near relative" — application of sections 6(d) and 3 — dependants and devolution of a single-house intestate estate — limits on judicial correction of legislative drafting.
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17 July 2012 |
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Full Court cannot vary a single Judge’s order after it has taken effect and the record of appeal has been filed.
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Appellate procedure — single Judge orders — effect of filing record of appeal — competence of full Court to vary or set aside single Judge’s decision — consent orders and finality of judgment.
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17 July 2012 |
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Full Court cannot vary a single Judge's order after it takes effect and the record of appeal has been filed.
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Civil procedure — Appeal — Leave to appeal granted by single Judge — Effect of decision once record of appeal filed — Full Court's power to vary single Judge decisions — Rule 71(2) inapplicable to single Judge in Chambers
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16 July 2012 |
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A granddaughter qualified as an heir under 'issue'/'near relative'; upbringing alone does not create intestate entitlement.
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Intestate succession — "issue" and "near relative" under s.3 — eligibility under s.6(d) — dependants under s.6(c) — inapplicability of s.9(2) for single-house estates — non-entitlement of merely fostered/educated relatives — courts should not correct legislative drafting
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16 July 2012 |
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Supreme Court ordered retrial after trial judge failed to decide ownership, product-liability and negligence issues in vehicle dispute.
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Civil procedure — ownership under loan agreement; locus standi to sue in conversion/restitution claims; conversion and restitution principles; product liability and alleged manufacturing negligence; failure of trial judge to determine pleaded issues — retrial ordered
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16 July 2012 |
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Appellant discontinued the appeal without serving the respondent; court awarded respondent costs, to be taxed if not agreed.
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Civil procedure — Appeal discontinuance — Compliance with Rule 63(1) (service of notice) — Consent to withdrawal — Entitlement to costs — Taxation in default of agreement
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16 July 2012 |
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Single-witness identification upheld where familiarity, daylight and corroborative links eliminated risk of mistaken identity; sentence increased.
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Criminal law — aggravated robbery — identification evidence — single identifying witness — necessity of careful scrutiny — factors supporting reliability: familiarity, daylight, struggle, and connecting conduct — appellate review of trial judge’s factual findings — sentence increased for aggravating factors
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10 July 2012 |
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Employee dismissal for insubordination and misconduct upheld; criminal acquittal does not bar employer discipline.
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Employment law — wrongful dismissal — disciplinary procedure and natural justice; criminal acquittal does not bar employer disciplinary action; corporate personality vs factual observations about closely-held companies
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10 July 2012 |
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Circumstantial evidence upheld a murder conviction; provocation rejected and sentence reduced from 20 to 10 years.
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Criminal law — Murder on circumstantial evidence — Application of guidelines for circumstantial cases; Provocation/self-defence — not established; Alternative verdict of manslaughter — not warranted; Sentence — appellate reduction for excessive term.
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10 July 2012 |
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Unexplained circumstantial evidence and a negated alibi upheld conviction; alleged land-dispute extenuation was unproven.
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Criminal law — Circumstantial evidence: distinctive shoe prints, recovered sandals, spent cartridges and tree bark as ‘‘odd coincidences’’ supporting guilt; alibi negation; extenuating circumstances under s.201(2) Penal Code require evidential foundation
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10 July 2012 |
| June 2012 |
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Trial judge improperly reviewed her judgment via a stay application; original dependency and damages awards were upheld.
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Tort law — Fatal Accidents Act & Law Reform Act — Dependency and entitlement to damages (loss of expectation of life, dependency, funeral expenses)
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Civil procedure
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Review under Order 39 Rule 1 — Proper grounds for review and distinction from stay of execution
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Stay of execution pending appeal — Prospects of success and irreparable prejudice considerations
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21 June 2012 |
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Court set aside an unreasoned damages award, held interest cannot be backdated to employment start, and remitted for reassessment.
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Assessment of damages — requirement for reasoned judgment and findings of fact — proper period and rates for interest: Order 36 Rule 8 and Judgments Act s.2 — discretionary pre‑judgment interest under Law Reform Act s.4 applies from date cause of action arose — failure to deduct prior payments — remittal for fresh assessment.
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19 June 2012 |
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Court set aside assessment for failing to evaluate evidence and for improperly backdating interest on terminal benefits.
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Assessment of damages — adequacy of judgment and requirement to review and state reasons — interest: proper period and rates for pre- and post-judgment interest (Order 36 R.8; Judgments Act s.2) — limits of backdating interest under Law Reform Act s.4 — deduction of sums previously paid/paid into court
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18 June 2012 |
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Dismissal for alleged financial misconduct upheld; Part IV Employment Act protections for oral contracts did not apply to the appellant.
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Employment law — dismissal for alleged financial misconduct; procedural fairness — charge and hearing; whether trial court may identify operative reason for dismissal; Part IV Employment Act (Section 26A) applies to oral contracts only; written contract — statutory protections inapplicable.
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15 June 2012 |