Wakilii

Abdulla v Abdulhussein (Civil Appeal No. 1 of 1945)

East African Court of Appeal · [1945] EACA 2 · 1945 Appeal Allowed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Appeal from decision of H.M. Supreme Court of Kenya on taxation of costs
Decision
Appeal allowed, Taxing Master's ruling restored, matter remitted for completion of taxation

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The Court held that costs incurred in proceedings before the Rent Control Board to obtain its consent to institute legal proceedings are necessary and proper costs recoverable by the successful party in the resulting suit under Rule 11a of the Advocates' Remuneration and Taxation of Costs Rules. The Court's statutory right to award costs in all suits is not abrogated by the Ordinance's silence on costs before the Board.

Outcome

Appeal allowed, Taxing Master's ruling restored, matter remitted for completion of taxation

Facts

The appellant applied to the Rent Control Board for permission to institute legal proceedings against the respondent under the Kenya Increase of Rent and of Mortgage Interest (Restrictions) Ordinance 1940, which required written consent of the Board before proceedings could be instituted in court. The respondent strongly resisted the application, and both parties were represented by advocates before the Board. The Board granted the appellant's application. The appellant then brought proceedings which were settled by consent, with the respondent agreeing to pay the appellant's taxed costs. When the appellant's bill of costs was presented for taxation, it included items relating to the proceedings before the Board. The Taxing Master ruled that these items were properly chargeable. The respondent objected, and Thacker J. reversed the Taxing Master's ruling, holding that the costs were not recoverable. The appellant appealed to the Court of Appeal for Eastern Africa.

Issues

  1. Whether costs incurred by a party in proceedings before the Rent Control Board for the purpose of obtaining its consent to file a suit are recoverable as costs in the resulting suit.
  2. Whether the Court has statutory authority to award such costs as part of the taxed costs of the suit.

Orders

  • Appeal allowed.
  • Ruling of the Taxing Master dated 30th September 1944 restored.
  • Bill of costs remitted for completion of taxation in accordance with the Taxing Master's ruling.
  • Costs of the appeal in the Court of Appeal and in the Supreme Court awarded to the appellant.
  • Taxed costs of and incidental to the reference already paid by the appellant to be refunded.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Costs — Taxation — Costs of Preliminary Administrative Proceedings
Where statute requires a party to obtain consent from an administrative board as a condition precedent to instituting legal proceedings, costs reasonably and properly incurred in obtaining that consent are recoverable as costs in the resulting suit under rules allowing all costs necessary or proper for the attainment of justice.
Civil Procedure — Costs — Court's Statutory Power to Award Costs
The right conferred upon the Court by statute to award costs in all suits is subject to the provisions of any law for the time being in force, but where a statute is silent on the question of costs, the Court's power to award costs is not thereby abrogated.
Civil Procedure — Costs — Costs of Proceedings Before Administrative Board
The fact that an administrative board has no statutory power to award costs to parties appearing before it does not prevent a court from awarding such costs as part of the taxed costs in subsequent litigation where the board's consent was a necessary prerequisite to instituting the proceedings.
Civil Procedure — Costs — Recovery Not Dependent on Opposition
The right to recover costs incurred in proceedings before an administrative board does not depend on the application being resisted, although the fact of its not being opposed will affect the quantum of costs.

Legislation cited (7)

  • Kenya Increase of Rent and of Mortgage Interest (Restrictions) Ordinance 1940 s.4
  • Kenya Civil Procedure Ordinance s.27
  • Kenya Advocates' Remuneration and Taxation of Costs Rules r.11a
  • Kenya Advocates' Remuneration and Taxation of Costs Rules r.7
  • Kenya Increase of Rent and of Mortgage Interest (Restrictions) Ordinance 1940 s.2
  • Kenya Increase of Rent and of Mortgage Interest (Restrictions) Ordinance 1940 s.18
  • Kenya Civil Procedure Ordinance s.11

Cases cited (1)

  • Attorney General v Corporation of Halifax (1871) LR 12 Eq 262

Full judgment

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The original judgment as reported. Read the original PDF before relying on any passage.

Abdulla v Abdulhussein (Civil Appeal No. 1 of 1945) [1945] EACA 2 (1 January 1945)
Source: this page presents Wakilii’s issue analysis and metadata for a publicly reported Ugandan judgment. Any AI-generated summary is marked as such. Judgment text is sourced from the Uganda Legal Information Institute (ulii.org). Wakilii is not affiliated with ULII.