Wakilii

Bukenya & 2 Ors v Equity Bank Ltd (HCT-00-CC-MA 510 of 2016)

High Court · [2017] UGCOMMC 95 · 2017 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application to set aside default decree and execution sale
Decision
Application dismissed; default decree and execution sale stand

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

Court dismissed application to set aside default decree and execution sale. Applicants were served with pleadings but failed to file application for leave to appear and defend within the prescribed period. They gave no reasons for their failure to respond to the suit or to apply for leave within the 10 days provided in Order 33 Rule 3 of the Civil Procedure Rules.

Outcome

Application dismissed; default decree and execution sale stand

Facts

The 1st Applicant obtained a loan of UGX 80,000,000 from the 1st Respondent on 16 February 2012, secured by land at Kambugu, Mpigi District. The 2nd and 3rd Applicants executed personal guarantees. When the 1st Applicant defaulted, the 1st Respondent filed suit against all three applicants and served them on 11 June 2014. The applicants did not file any application to appear and defend within the prescribed time. The 1st Respondent obtained judgment in default on 30 June 2014 and extracted a decree on 21 July 2014. The 1st Respondent proceeded to attach land belonging to the 1st and 2nd Applicants which was sold to the 2nd Respondent. The applicants then brought this application to set aside the default decree and execution sale.

Issues

  1. Whether the default decree given in favour of the 1st Respondent should be set aside.
  2. Whether the execution of the decree by sale of the applicants' land should be set aside.
  3. Whether the applicants should be granted leave to appear and defend the suit.

Orders

  • Application dismissed with costs.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Default Judgment — Setting Aside — Burden of Proof
An applicant seeking to set aside a default decree must show either that they were not notified of the suit's existence and would have resisted it if notified, or where served with pleadings, that they were prevented by good cause from filing an application for leave to appear and defend within the prescribed time.
Civil Procedure — Default Judgment — Failure to Respond — Effect
Where a defendant is served with pleadings and chooses not to apply for leave to appear and defend, they sit on their rights and lock themselves out of the proceedings, and the court will dismiss an application to set aside the default judgment if no reasons are given for the failure to respond.

Legislation cited (1)

Full judgment

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

Bukenya & 2 Ors v Equity Bank Ltd (HCT-00-CC-MA 510 of 2016) [2017] UGCommC 95 (18 August 2017)
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.