Wakilii

Amony v Okot t/a 323 Royal Inn (Civil Appeal No. 99 of 2018)

High Court · [2020] UGHC 116 · 2020 Appeal Allowed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Civil appeal from the Chief Magistrate's Court dismissal of a claim for breach of contract of bailment
Decision
Appeal allowed; respondent found liable in bailment; damages and interest awarded to appellant

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The High Court allowed the appeal, holding that a contract of bailment existed between the parties and that the respondent breached the duty of care as bailee. The appellant, though not the owner, had possessory title and locus standi to sue for breach of bailment. The bailee failed to rebut the presumption of negligence arising from non-return of the bailed motorcycle and was therefore liable for its loss and consequential damages.

Outcome

Appeal allowed; respondent found liable in bailment; damages and interest awarded to appellant

Facts

On 8 October 2015, Gulu District Local Government assigned a white Yamaha motorcycle to the appellant for use as a Community Development Officer. The appellant entered an arrangement with the respondent to provide overnight parking and security for the motorcycle at his business premises at UGX 20,000 per month. On 5 November 2015, the appellant entrusted the motorcycle to the respondent for custody until June 2016, paying eight months' fees in advance. When the appellant returned on 30 June 2016 to collect the motorcycle, the respondent informed her it had been stolen from the premises. The respondent's security guards had been poisoned before the theft. The appellant had signed an indemnity form undertaking responsibility for replacement of the motorcycle in case of loss. The trial magistrate dismissed the appellant's claim for breach of bailment, finding she had no locus standi as she was not the owner and that no formal contract existed.

Issues

  1. Whether the trial court erred in finding that the appellant had no locus standi to sue for loss of the motorcycle
  2. Whether a contract of bailment existed between the appellant and respondent
  3. Whether the respondent as bailee breached the duty of care owed to the appellant as bailor
  4. What damages, if any, the appellant was entitled to recover for breach of bailment

Orders

  • Appeal allowed.
  • Judgment of the lower court set aside.
  • Judgment entered for the appellant against the respondent.
  • Respondent to pay UGX 11,847,235 as the value of the motorcycle at the time of loss.
  • Respondent to pay UGX 2,400,000 as general damages.
  • Interest at 8% per annum on the awards from the date of judgment until payment in full.
  • Costs of the suit and of the appeal awarded to the appellant.

Rules and key headnotes

Bailment — Nature of bailment — Elements required — Possession and duty to account
Bailment means the delivery of goods by one person to another for some purpose, upon a contract that the goods shall when the purpose is accomplished be returned or disposed of according to the direction of the person who delivered them. It is the element of lawful possession, however created, and duty to account for the thing as the property of another that creates the bailment, regardless of whether such possession is based upon contract in the ordinary sense or not.
Bailment — Bailor's locus standi — Possession versus ownership
A bailor need not be the real owner of the property or chattel transferred to the bailee. Possession is the essence of bailment and it is immaterial for the purposes of creation of a bailment how the bailor came into possession of the chattel. A person in lawful possession has locus standi to sue for breach of bailment regardless of ownership.
Bailment — Formation of contract — Written contract not required
Although bailment has often been said to arise only through a contract, the modern definition does not require that there be a written agreement. A contract of bailment may be oral or written or partly oral and partly written or may be implied from the conduct of the parties. A bailment can exist without a written contract.
Bailment — Parking arrangements — Distinction between bailment and licence
Whether a relationship of bailment exists in parking arrangements depends on whether the parking lot operator assumes control over and custody of the vehicle, or simply grants permission to park the vehicle at a designated place. Where control and custody pass to the operator, a bailment exists; where the vehicle owner retains keys and free access without consulting an attendant, only a licence exists.
Bailment — Bailee's duty of care — Standard of care required
In the absence of any special contract, a bailee is not responsible for the loss, destruction or deterioration of the bailed chattel where the bailee takes such care as a person of ordinary prudence would under similar circumstances take of his or her own chattel of the same bulk, quantity and value. The bailee needs to take the same degree of care whether the bailment is for reward or gratuitous.
Negligence — Bailment — Presumption of negligence — Burden of proof
When the chattel entrusted to a bailee has been lost, stolen or destroyed while in the bailee's possession, there is a presumption of negligence on the part of the bailee. The bailee is expected to return the bailed chattel when the bailee's time for possession is over, and the bailee is presumed liable if the chattel is not returned. The burden is on the bailee to rebut the presumption by showing affirmatively that he or she was not negligent.
Vicarious liability — Bailment — Liability for acts of servants
A bailee is answerable for the manner in which the servant or agent carries out duties in relation to the bailed chattel. When a principal has in his charge the chattels of another in such circumstances that he is under a duty to take all reasonable precautions to protect them from theft or depredation, then if he entrusts that duty to a servant or agent, he is answerable for the manner in which that servant or agent carries out the duty, including loss due to theft or negligence by the servant.

Legislation cited (6)

  • Contracts Act, 7 of 2010 s.88
  • Contracts Act, 7 of 2010 s.90
  • Contracts Act, 7 of 2010 s.92
  • Contracts Act, 7 of 2010 s.93
  • Contracts Act, 7 of 2010 s.99
  • Contracts Act, 7 of 2010 s.117(2)

Cases cited (62)

  • Father Nanensio Begumisa and three Others v Eric Tiberaga (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 17 of 2000)
  • Lovinsa Nankya v Nsibambi [1980] HCB 81
  • Zuppa v. Hertz, 268 A.2d 364 (N.J. 1970)
  • Russell v. Wilson (1923) 33 CLR 538
  • Costello v. Chief Constable of Derbyshire Constabulary [2001] 1 WLR 1437
  • Gilchrist Watt & Sanderson Pty Ltd v. York Products Pty Ltd [1970] 3 All ER 825
  • Morris v. CW Martin & Sons [1966] 1 QB 716
  • KH Enterprise (cargo owners) v. Pioneer Container (owners) [1994] 2 All ER 250
  • R v. McDonald [1881-85] All ER Rep 1063
  • Edward v. Newland and Co [1950] 2 KB 534
  • Ashby v. Tolhurst. [1937] 2 K.B. 242
  • Tinsley v. Dudley, [1951] 2 K.B. 19
  • Price & Co. v. Union Lighterage Company [1903] 1 K.B. 750
  • Thornton v. Shoe Lane Parking [1971] 1 All ER 686
  • Chapelton v. Barry Urban District Council [1940] 1 KB 532
  • Olley v. Marlborough Court [1949] 1KB 532
  • Curtis v. Chemical Cleaning and Dyeing Co Ltd [1951] 1 All ER 631
  • McCutheon v. David MacBrayne Ltd [1964] 1 WLR 125
  • Armory v. Delamirie [1722] 93 E.R. 664
  • Meux v. Great Eastern Ry Co [1895] 2 QB 387
  • Claridge v. South Staffordshire Tramway Co [1892] 1 QB 422
  • NZ Securities & Finance Ltd v. Wrightcars Ltd [1976] 1 NZLR 77
  • Port Swettenham Authority v. T.W. Wu & Co. [1979] A.C. 580
  • Date & Cocke v. GW Sheldon & Co (London) Ltd (1921) 7 Ll. L.Rep. 53
  • British Road Services Ltd v. Arthur V. Crutchley & Co Ltd (No.1)[1968] 1 All E.R. 811
  • Elvin Powell v. Plummer Roddis (1933) 50 TLR 158
  • Port Swettenham and China-Pacific SA v. Food Corp of India (The Winson) [1982] A.C. 939
  • Alwaham v. Bullock, (1902) 86 L.T. 796
  • Cheshire v. Bailey [1905]1 K.B. 237
  • Mintz v. Silverton (1920) 36 TL.R. 399
  • Lloyd v. Grace, Smith & Co. [1912] A.C. 716
  • Muwonge v Attorney General [1967] EA 17
  • Sally Wertheim v. Chicoutimi Pulp Company [1911] AC 301
  • Hadley v. Baxendale (1854) 156 ER 145
  • North Central Wagon and Finance Co Ltd v. Graham [1950] 1 All ER 780
  • O'Sullivan v. Williams [1992] RTR 402
  • Nicholls v. Bastard (1853) 150 ER 279
  • HSBC Rail (UK) Ltd v. Network Rail Infrastructure Ltd [2006] 1 All ER 343
  • Christine Bitarabeho v Edward Kakonge (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 4 of 2000)
  • Martindale v. Duncan [1973] 1 WLR 574
  • Moore v. DER Ltd [1971] 1 WLR 1476
  • Giles v. Thompson [1994] 1 AC 142
  • Lagden v. O'Connor [2004] 1 AC 1067
  • Alexander v. Rolls Royce Motor Cars Ltd [1996] RTR 95
  • Ryce Motors Ltd and another v. Muroki [1995-1998] 2 EA 363
  • Borham- Carter v. Hyde Park Hotel [1948] 64 TLR
  • Masaka Municipal Council v Semogerere [1998-2000] HCB 23
  • Kenya Breweries Ltd v. Kiambu General Transport Agency Ltd [2000] 2 EA 398
  • Jivanji v. Sanyo Electrical Co Ltd [2003] 1 EA 98
  • African Highland Produce Limited v. Kisorio [2001] 1 EA 1
  • Senyonga Bernard v Uganda Transport Corporation [1980] HCB 128
  • Kyambadde v Mpigi District Administration [1983] HCB 44
  • Haji Asuman Mutekanga v Equator Growers (U) Ltd (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 7 of 1995)
  • Gapco (U) Ltd v AS Transporters (U) Ltd (Court of Appeal Civil Appeal No. 18 of 2004)
  • Kibimba Rice Co Ltd v Umar Salim (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 7 of 1988)
  • James Fredrick Nsubuga v Attorney General (High Court Civil Suit No. 13 of 1993)
  • Erukana Kuwe v Isaac Patrick Matovu and another (High Court Civil Suit No. 177 of 2003)
  • Uganda Commercial bank v. Kigozi [2002] 1 EA 305
  • Charles Acire v M Engola (High Court Civil Suit No. 143 of 1993)
  • Storms v. Hutchinson [1905] AC 515
  • Kabona Brothers Agencies v Uganda Metal Products & Enamelling Co Ltd [1981-1982] HCB 74
  • Kiwanuka Godfrey T/a Tasumi Auto Spares and Class mart v Arua District Local Government (High Court Civil Suit No. 186 of 2006)

Full judgment

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Amony v Okot t_a 323 Royal Inn (Civil Appeal No. 99 of 2018) [2020] UGHC 116 (22 May 2020)
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.