Wakilii

Ayella v Kitgum Local Government & Anor (CIVIL APPEAL No. 0026 OF 2014)

High Court · [2018] UGHCCD 60 · 2018 Appeal Allowed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Civil appeal from Chief Magistrate's Court order condemning appellant to costs after second respondent struck off as defendant
Decision
Costs order set aside; appellant relieved of liability for costs arising from counsel's error

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The court held that a litigant should not be condemned to pay costs for the blunders of counsel. Where an advocate improperly named a party as a defendant without instructions, the client is not blameworthy and should not be penalised for counsel's mistakes. An advocate may be ordered to pay costs personally where misconduct rises to a rare and exceptional level, but only after being given an opportunity to be heard. The costs order against the appellant was set aside.

Outcome

Costs order set aside; appellant relieved of liability for costs arising from counsel's error

Facts

The appellant sued the first respondent in the Chief Magistrate's Court. His advocate filed pleadings improperly naming the second respondent as a defendant, despite the statutory notice being served only on the first respondent and despite the appellant not instructing his advocate to sue the second respondent. When the second respondent's name was struck off, the trial magistrate condemned the appellant to pay the second respondent's costs. The appellant appealed, arguing he should not bear the costs of his advocate's mistake. Counsel for the respondents conceded the appeal, confirming the statutory notice was served only on the first respondent.

Issues

  1. Whether the appellant should be condemned to pay the costs of the second respondent when his advocate improperly named the second respondent as a defendant without instructions.
  2. Whether an advocate should be personally condemned to pay costs for misconduct without being given an opportunity to be heard.

Orders

  • Appeal allowed.
  • The decision of the trial magistrate condemning the appellant to pay costs of the second respondent is set aside.
  • Costs of this appeal awarded to the appellant.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Costs — Liability of Client for Counsel's Errors — Improper Joinder of Parties
A litigant should not be condemned to pay costs arising from mistakes, faults, lapses and dilatory conduct of counsel, as such conduct should not be visited upon the client.
Civil Procedure — Costs Against Advocates — Personal Liability — Procedural Requirements
An advocate may be ordered to pay costs personally where the advocate has caused costs to be incurred without reasonable cause or to be wasted by undue delay, negligence, egregious misconduct or other default that rises to a rare and exceptional level, but such an order should not be made without giving the advocate an opportunity to be heard.
Civil Procedure — Costs — General Principles — Successful Party
Where a party has been successful in proceedings, the party ought not to be deprived of costs or made to pay the other side's costs unless the party has been guilty of some sort of misconduct relating to the litigation or the circumstances leading up to the litigation.

Cases cited (9)

  • Weinberg v. Dickson-Weinberg, 229 P.3d 1133, 1142 (Haw. 2010)
  • Quebec (Criminal and Penal Prosecutions) v. Jodoin, 2017 SCC 26
  • Kamurasi Charles v Accord Properties Ltd and Another (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 3 of 1996)
  • Abraham v. Justin, [1963] 2 ALL.E.R.402
  • J.B. Kohli and others v. Bachulal Popallac [1964] E.A 219
  • Andrew Bamanya v Shamsherali Zaver (Supreme Court Civil Application No. 70 of 2001)
  • Ggoloba Godfrey v Harriet Kizito (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 7 of 2006)
  • Zam Nalumansi v Sulaiman Bale (Supreme Court Civil Application No. 2 of 1999)
  • Anglo-Cyprian Trade Agencies Ltd v. Paphos Wine Industries Ltd, [1951] 1 All ER 873

Full judgment

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

Ayella Vs Kitgum Local Government & Anor (CIVIL APPEAL No. 0026 OF 2014) [2018] UGHCCD 60 (5 October 2018)
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.