Wakilii

Alcon International Ltd v N.S.S.F & Anor (HCT-00-CC-CS 1255 of 1998)

High Court · [2014] UGCOMMC 127 · 2014 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application to determine which firm of advocates properly represented the plaintiff following remittal from Supreme Court for retrial
Decision
M/S Kampala Associated Advocates removed from the record; M/S Tumusiime, Kabega & Co. Advocates continue as advocates on record for the plaintiff in the remitted proceedings

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The court held that Alcon International Limited (Uganda) was the plaintiff that filed Civil Suit No. 1255 of 1998 and instructed M/S Tumusiime, Kabega & Co. Advocates. The Supreme Court's finding that Alcon International Limited (Uganda) lacked locus standi to sue on the contract did not substitute Alcon International Limited (Kenya) in its place or alter who originally filed suit. M/S Kampala Associated Advocates, having no instructions from the plaintiff that filed suit, was struck off the record.

Outcome

M/S Kampala Associated Advocates removed from the record; M/S Tumusiime, Kabega & Co. Advocates continue as advocates on record for the plaintiff in the remitted proceedings

Facts

Alcon International Limited (Kenya) entered into a building contract with the National Social Security Fund on 21 July 1994. Alcon International Limited (Uganda) executed the works. Disputes arose and the defendant terminated the contract. M/S Tumusiime, Kabega & Co. Advocates filed High Court Civil Suit No. 1255 of 1998 on behalf of a plaintiff described as Alcon International Limited, a company incorporated in Kenya but carrying on construction business in Uganda. The matter proceeded through arbitration, the High Court, Court of Appeal (Civil Appeal No. 2 of 2004), and Supreme Court (Civil Appeal No. 15 of 2009). The Supreme Court allowed the defendant's appeal, set aside all prior orders, and remitted the case for retrial, finding that Alcon International Limited (Uganda) lacked locus standi because it was not a signatory to the contract and no valid assignment had occurred. When the remitted matter came for hearing, M/S Kampala Associated Advocates claimed to represent the plaintiff, asserting that Alcon International Limited (Kenya) was the proper party. M/S Tumusiime, Kabega & Co. Advocates disputed this, relying on Court of Appeal Civil Application No. 50 of 2007, which had struck Alcon International Limited (Kenya) off the record and confirmed M/S Tumusiime, Kabega & Co. Advocates as the proper representatives of Alcon International Limited (Uganda).

Issues

  1. Whether instructions to sue in High Court Civil Suit No. 1255 of 1998 were given by Alcon International Limited (Uganda) or Alcon International Limited (Kenya), and consequently which firm of advocates is properly on record to represent the plaintiff following remittal for retrial.

Orders

  • M/S Kampala Associated Advocates struck off the record of proceedings.
  • M/S Tumusiime, Kabega & Co. Advocates confirmed as the advocates properly on record for the plaintiff.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Legal Representation — Authority to Appear — Identity of Party Instructing Counsel
The firm of advocates that filed the original suit and continued to represent the plaintiff through all stages of litigation remains properly on record where the opposing firm admits it has no instructions from the entity that filed suit, even where appellate courts have questioned the filing party's substantive right to sue.
Civil Procedure — Locus Standi — Distinction Between Identity of Party and Right to Sue
An appellate finding that a plaintiff lacks locus standi to sue on a contract does not alter the identity of the party that originally filed the suit or substitute a different entity in its place; lack of standing addresses the substantive right to maintain the action, not the procedural question of who commenced it.
Civil Procedure — Pleadings — Identity of Plaintiff — Effect of Defective Pleading
Where a plaintiff files suit without a cause of action or misrepresents its status in pleadings, the fact that the plaintiff should not have sued does not transform the suit into one filed by a different entity merely because that other entity would have had standing; the identity of the actual filer is determined by who gave instructions and whose name appears on the record.

Legislation cited (2)

Cases cited (5)

  • Civil Appeal No. 2 of 2004 (Court of Appeal)
  • Civil Appeal No. 15 of 2009 (Supreme Court)
  • Court of Appeal Civil Application No. 50 of 2007
  • Alcon International Limited v National Social Security Fund (High Court Civil Suit No. 1255 of 1998)
  • Civil Suit No. 250 of 2012

Full judgment

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Alcon International Ltd v N.S.S.F & Anor (HCT-00-CC-CS 1255 of 1998) [2014] UGCommC 127 (3 September 2014)
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.