Wakilii

Adman Source & Contacts Ltd v Musoke Muhammad t-a Pasola Motors (Civil Suit 1267 of 2025)

High Court · [2026] UGCOMMC 278 · 2026 Judgment for Plaintiff AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
First instance civil suit for breach of contract with interlocutory judgment entered for formal proof
Decision
Judgment entered for the plaintiff with orders for refund of advance payment, general damages, interest, and costs

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

Where a defendant fails to deliver goods under multiple contracts despite receiving advance payment, and the goods were to be imported but remain undelivered after over two years, specific performance is impractical and the plaintiff is entitled to a refund of the advance payment plus general damages for breach of contract.

Outcome

Judgment entered for the plaintiff with orders for refund of advance payment, general damages, interest, and costs

Facts

The plaintiff and defendant entered into two contracts in October and November 2023 for the purchase of four boom lifts. Under the first contract dated 28 October 2023, the plaintiff agreed to purchase two boom lifts for USD 106,000 and paid a deposit of USD 20,000. Under the second contract dated 2 November 2023, the plaintiff agreed to purchase two additional boom lifts for USD 121,000 and paid a deposit of USD 100,000. The defendant was to import, clear with customs, and deliver all four units. The defendant delivered only one boom lift valued at USD 53,000, leaving three units undelivered. The plaintiff paid a total of USD 120,000 in advance. The defendant failed to file a defence despite being served several times, and interlocutory judgment was entered. The matter proceeded to formal proof.

Issues

  1. Whether the plaintiff is entitled to the remedies sought in the plaint.
  2. Whether the plaintiff is entitled to specific performance or in the alternative a refund of USD 67,000.
  3. Whether the plaintiff is entitled to general damages for breach of contract.
  4. Whether the plaintiff is entitled to punitive damages.
  5. Whether the plaintiff is entitled to interest on the sums awarded.

Orders

  • The defendant shall refund to the plaintiff the sum of USD 67,000 being the money paid for the boom lifts in advance.
  • The defendant shall pay UGX 80,000,000 being general damages for the breach of contract.
  • Interest is awarded on the sum of USD 67,000 at a rate of 15% per annum from the date of filing this suit until payment in full.
  • Interest is awarded on the general damages at court rate from the date of judgment until payment in full.
  • The plaintiff is awarded costs of the suit.

Rules and key headnotes

Contract Law — Breach of Contract — Failure to Deliver Goods — Refund of Advance Payment
Where a defendant fails to deliver goods under a contract despite receiving advance payment, and the defendant does not file a defence or adduce evidence to challenge the claim, the plaintiff is entitled to a refund of the money paid in advance.
Contract Law — Specific Performance — Discretionary Remedy — Adequacy of Damages
Specific performance is an equitable remedy decreed at the discretion of the court and will not be granted where a common law remedy such as damages would be adequate to put the plaintiff in the position they would have been but for the breach.
Contract Law — Specific Performance — Impracticality — Goods to be Imported
Where goods were to be imported and remain undelivered for over two years, the remedy of specific performance is impractical since the existence of the goods is uncertain, and a refund of advance payment is the appropriate remedy.
Damages & Quantum — General Damages — Breach of Contract — Assessment Factors
In assessing general damages for breach of contract, courts are guided by the value of the subject matter, the economic inconvenience the plaintiff may have been put through, and the nature and extent of the injury suffered.
Damages & Quantum — Punitive Damages — Exceptional Remedy — Egregious Conduct Required
Punitive or exemplary damages are an exception to the rule that damages generally are to compensate the injured person and are awarded to punish, deter and express the outrage of court at the defendant's egregious, highhanded, vindictive, oppressive or malicious conduct.
Civil Procedure — Interlocutory Judgment — Effect of Failure to File Defence — Admission of Allegations
Where a party does not file a written statement of defence, it is deemed to have admitted the allegations in the plaint, and where interlocutory judgment has been entered, the question of liability is no longer in issue and what remains is the assessment of quantum of damages.

Legislation cited (2)

Cases cited (6)

  • Haji Asuman Mutekanga v Equator Growers (U) Ltd (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 07 of 1995)
  • Halling Manzoor v Serwan Singh Baram (Civil Appeal No. 9 of 2001)
  • Uganda Commercial Bank v Deo Kigozi [2002] 1 EA 305
  • El Termewy v Hassan Awdi & Others (High Court Civil Suit No. 95 of 2012)
  • Mohanlal Kakubhai Radia v Warid Telecom Uganda Ltd (High Court Civil Suit No. 0224 of 2011)
  • Uganda Development Bank v Muganga Construction Co Ltd [1981] HCB 35

Full judgment

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

Adman Source & Contacts Ltd v Musoke Muhammad t-a Pasola Motors (Civil Suit 1267 of 2025) [2026] UGCommC 278 (8 June 2026)
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.