Wakilii

Allied Transporters and Constructors Limited v Hoima Sugar Limited (Miscellaneous Application No. 2424 of 2024)

High Court · [2025] UGCOMMC 387 · 2025 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application to strike out written statement of defence for being filed out of time, arising from civil suit for breach of contract
Decision
Written statement of defence struck out; underlying civil suit to proceed to hearing

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The High Court held that a written statement of defence filed 19 days after service of summons, instead of the mandatory 15 days prescribed by Order 8 Rule 1(2) of the Civil Procedure Rules, was incompetent and must be struck out. The word 'shall' in the rule is mandatory. Service upon the defendant's instructed advocates was valid. The defendant's failure to seek leave to file out of time rendered the defence incompetent on record.

Outcome

Written statement of defence struck out; underlying civil suit to proceed to hearing

Facts

The Applicant filed Civil Suit No. 0957 of 2024 against the Respondent on 9 August 2024 for breach of contract. Fresh summons were issued on 12 September 2024 after initial network challenges prevented retrieval. Service was effected on 18 September 2024 upon M/s Kasangaki & Co. Advocates, the Respondent's external counsel at Masindi, who acknowledged receipt. The Respondent filed its written statement of defence on 6 October 2024, 19 days after service. The Respondent contended that service was improper because the law firm had not been instructed to accept service at the time, and that the delay was unintentional. The Applicant sought to strike out the defence for being filed outside the mandatory 15-day period without leave of court.

Issues

  1. Whether the Respondent filed the written statement of defence out of time?
  2. What remedies are available?

Orders

  • The written statement of defence is incompetent.
  • The written statement of defence is hereby struck out.
  • Civil Suit No. 0957 of 2024 shall be fixed for hearing in the next session.
  • Costs of this application shall be in the cause.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Time Limits — Filing of Defence — Mandatory Nature of 15-Day Period
The requirement under Order 8 Rule 1(2) of the Civil Procedure Rules that a defendant file a defence within 15 days after service of summons is mandatory, as indicated by the word 'shall', and time limits set by statutes are matters of substantive law that must be strictly complied with.
Civil Procedure — Service of Process — Service on Instructed Advocates
Service of court process upon a law firm that has been duly instructed and authorized to receive court processes on behalf of a party is valid and effective service under Order 5 Rule 10 of the Civil Procedure Rules.
Civil Procedure — Defence Filed Out of Time — Requirement for Leave
A written statement of defence filed outside the statutory 15-day period without an application for leave to file out of time is incompetent on record and liable to be struck out.

Legislation cited (7)

Cases cited (4)

Full judgment

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Allied Transporters and Constructors Limited v Hoima Sugar Limited (Miscellaneous Application No. 2424 of 2024) [2025] UGCommC 387 (21 October 2025)
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.