Wakilii

Aim Motors v Traminco (U) Ltd (Civil Suit No. 755 of 2020)

High Court · [2021] UGCOMMC 109 · 2021 Judgment for Plaintiff AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
First instance civil suit for recovery of liquidated sum, undefended after defendant's application for leave to defend was dismissed for want of prosecution
Decision
Judgment entered for the plaintiff for the full amount claimed with interest and costs

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

Citator coverage is limited to judgments in the Wakilii corpus and source-matched treatment records. Absence of a signal is not an assertion that the case remains good law.

AI-generated summary. This summary was generated by AI from the full text of the judgment. It may contain errors or omissions—always read the source judgment before relying on it.

Holding

The High Court Commercial Division entered judgment for the plaintiff in an undefended debt recovery suit. The defendant had hired machinery and skilled personnel from the plaintiff for road construction works between August 2018 and February 2019, admitted indebtedness of UGX 545,700,000 on 20 December 2018, and incurred additional hire charges of UGX 32,450,000 for machinery hired between January and February 2019. The court found the total debt of UGX 578,150,000 established on the record and unchallenged, and awarded judgment with 8% interest per annum from the date of judgment until payment in full.

Outcome

Judgment entered for the plaintiff for the full amount claimed with interest and costs

Facts

In 2018, the defendant Traminco (Uganda) Ltd carried out road construction works along Pallisa-Mbale road. The defendant solicited and obtained machinery (excavators, ATD machines, compactor, wheel loaders, grader, bull dozer) and skilled personnel from the plaintiff Aim Motors between August 2018 and February 2019. On 20 December 2018, the defendant admitted indebtedness of UGX 545,700,000 and undertook to pay. The plaintiff additionally hired machinery to the defendant between January and February 2019 for the Pallisa-Kamonkoli 44km project, amounting to UGX 32,450,000. The defendant failed to pay despite the plaintiff's demands. The defendant filed an application for leave to appear and defend, which was dismissed on 10 March 2021 for want of prosecution when the defendant failed to appear in court. The suit proceeded undefended.

Issues

  1. Whether the plaintiff established the debt owed by the defendant.
  2. Whether the plaintiff is entitled to judgment for the liquidated sum claimed.

Orders

  • Judgment entered against the defendants jointly and severally.
  • Defendants to pay the plaintiff UGX 578,150,000.
  • Defendants to pay interest at 8% per annum on the judgment sum from date of judgment until payment in full.
  • Costs of the suit awarded to the plaintiff.

Rules and key headnotes

Contract Law — Debt Recovery — Admission of Indebtedness — Effect of Undefended Suit
Where a defendant admits indebtedness in writing and subsequently fails to defend a suit for recovery of the admitted sum, the court will enter judgment for the plaintiff where the debt is established on the record and remains unchallenged.
Civil Procedure — Undefended Suits — Dismissal of Application for Leave to Defend — Effect on Main Suit
Where a defendant's application for leave to appear and defend is dismissed for want of prosecution due to the defendant's failure to appear in court, the main suit proceeds as undefended and judgment may be entered on the pleadings and evidence on record.

Full judgment

↓ Download PDF

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

Aim Motors v Traminco (U) Ltd (Civil Suit No. 755 of 2020) [2021] UGCommC 109 (24 March 2021)
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.