Supreme Court of Zambia - 2019 October

14 judgments

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14 judgments
Citation
Judgment date
October 2019
An employee with superior allowances but no managerial authority was a "qualified clerk" entitled to statutory terminal benefits.
Labour law – Minimum Wages and Conditions of Employment (General) Order 2006 (SI No.57/2006) – definition of "qualified clerk" – management exclusion – superior conditions of service not determinative of management status – entitlement to terminal benefits and interest.
31 October 2019
Whether enhanced allowances converted the respondent into management, excluding him from minimum-wage protections.
Employment law — Minimum Wages and Conditions of Employment (General) Order, 2006 — classification of 'qualified clerk' vs 'management' — whether superior conditions convert a clerk into management — entitlement to statutory terminal benefits.
31 October 2019
29 October 2019
Mere suspicion is insufficient for slander per se; lawful police entry under s.19 CPC negates a trespass claim.
Defamation – slander actionable per se – requires direct imputation of crime, not mere suspicion; Trespass – police power under s.19 Criminal Procedure Code to enter premises when pursuing arrest – Article 17 rights subject to statutory exceptions; Presence of private person accompanying lawful police action does not automatically create trespass liability.
28 October 2019
Financial hardship alone, without material proof and alternatives exhausted, does not justify extension to file an appeal record.
Civil procedure — Extension of time to file record of appeal — Rule 12(1) — Insufficiency of funds does not automatically justify enlargement of time — Requirement for material evidence when exercising discretion — Duty to comply with procedural time limits; availability of legal aid.
23 October 2019
Appeal allowed: failure to prove the contested bottle’s origin and medical causation defeated negligence claim.
Product liability and negligence – duty of care of manufacturer – burden on claimant to prove manufacturer, contamination and causation – necessity to produce disputed bottle and call public analyst/medical witnesses – appellate interference with trial credibility findings where judge was wrong in principle.
23 October 2019
Failure to include material documents in the record of appeal is fatal; appeal dismissed under Rules 58(4) and 68(2).
Civil procedure — Record of appeal — Rule 58(4)(h) & (i) — omission of affidavits/documents and material papers (conditions of service, pension rules) — Rule 68(2) sanction — appeal dismissed — costs follow the event.
9 October 2019
Buyer’s failure to obtain vacant possession after purchase is governed by vendor–purchaser contract law, not the Rent Act.
Property law – vendor and purchaser v. landlord and tenant – Rent Act applicability – vacant possession after sale – remedies for breach of contract of sale (specific performance/damages) – jurisdiction to grant Rent Act relief.
9 October 2019
Whether a bank must bear loss from unauthorized online card transactions where it fails to exercise reasonable care securing the online channel.
Banking law – Online/ATM/Visa card fraud – Allocation of liability for unauthorized electronic transactions – Burden and standard of proof in civil claims – Bank’s contractual/common-law duty to secure online channels and exercise reasonable care.
8 October 2019
Notice termination lawful absent evidence of malice; redundancy finding and award set aside.
Employment law — Termination by notice/payment in lieu — Industrial Relations Court’s limited power to peer behind notice terminations — Redundancy: burden of proof that a post was abolished — Right to be heard on appraisal governed by employer’s grievance procedure.
8 October 2019
Termination by payment in lieu of notice upheld; redundancy award overturned for lack of supporting evidence.
:[
8 October 2019
Procedural ambush and unsupported allegations rendered the dismissal wrongful and unfair; damages reduced to six months' pay.
Employment law — disciplinary procedure and natural justice (audi alteram partem); wrongful dismissal (procedural irregularity); unfair dismissal (substance/reasonableness); measure of damages for dismissal; costs under IRC Rule 44(1).
8 October 2019
Interlocutory costs may be taxed forthwith under Order 62 Rule 8(9) where no further order concerning the interlocutory matter is anticipated.
Civil procedure — Costs — Taxation of interlocutory costs — Order 62 Rule 8(9) allows taxation forthwith where no further order is likely — Effect of party joining on immediate taxation of interlocutory costs.
4 October 2019
Where interlocutory proceedings have concluded with no further orders anticipated, costs may be taxed immediately under Order 62 rule 8(9).
Civil procedure – costs – taxation of interlocutory costs – Order 62 rule 8(9) allowing immediate taxation where no likelihood of further order – status as joined party does not preclude immediate taxation in such circumstances.
4 October 2019