Wakilii

City Aluminium & Glass Services v Barclays Bank Uganda Limited (Civil Miscellaneous Application No. 884 of 2020)

High Court · [2021] UGCOMMC 2 · 2021 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for leave to amend plaint and reopen case arising from HCCS No. 867 of 2014
Decision
Application dismissed with costs to the respondent

Observed later treatment

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Holding

The High Court dismissed an application for leave to amend a plaint and reopen a case after both parties had closed their evidence. The court held that the proposed amendments would fundamentally change the cause of action by introducing new claims, new documentary evidence, and removing parties, thereby prejudicing the respondent. The application was found to be an attempt to improve the applicant's case at a late stage rather than a genuine correction of inadvertent errors.

Outcome

Application dismissed with costs to the respondent

Facts

City Aluminium & Glass Services Ltd brought an application seeking leave to amend its plaint and reopen its case in HCCS No. 867 of 2014 after both parties had closed their evidence. The applicant claimed that its previous counsel Gerald Kakuba had not properly appreciated instructions and had prematurely closed the case without tendering vital documentary evidence. The applicant had previously obtained orders in Miscellaneous Application No. 7 of 2019 allowing amendment but allegedly failed to take advantage of them. The proposed amendments sought to change the claim amount from UGX 2,854,164,879 to UGX 381,239,280, remove two parties (Mr. Onyango John Oketch and Ms. Babirye Leah), introduce new documentary evidence including an offer letter, mortgage deed, and Credit Reference Bureau correspondence, and shift the basis of the claim from a memorandum of understanding to breach of a legal mortgage agreement. The respondent opposed the application on grounds that it would fundamentally change the nature of the suit and prejudice the respondent after evidence had been concluded.

Issues

  1. Whether the proposed amendment changes the character of the suit and introduces a new claim.

Orders

  • Application for leave to amend the plaint and allow the applicant to re-open its case denied.
  • Costs of the application awarded to the respondent.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Amendment of Pleadings — Timing and Discretion — Application After Close of Evidence
A court will not exercise its discretion to allow amendment of pleadings after both parties have closed their cases where the amendment would fundamentally change the cause of action, introduce new claims, and prejudice the opposite party.
Civil Procedure — Amendment of Pleadings — Change of Cause of Action — Substitution of Distinctive Claims
An amendment will not be allowed where it substitutes a distinctive cause of action for another or changes the subject matter of the suit into one of a substantially different character.
Civil Procedure — Amendment of Pleadings — Principles Under Order 6 Rule 19 — Seven Guiding Principles
Under Order 6 rule 19 of the Civil Procedure Rules, amendments should be freely allowed before commencement of hearing if made without prejudice to the other party, but no amendment will be allowed which would prejudice the rights of the opposite party existing at the date of the proposed amendment or which would change the action into one of a substantially different character.
Civil Procedure — Amendment of Pleadings — Removal of Parties and Introduction of New Evidence
Where a proposed amendment seeks to remove parties who were central to the original claim and introduce new documentary evidence that was not relied upon in the original pleadings, such amendment constitutes a fundamental shift in the nature of the claim and will be refused.

Legislation cited (6)

Cases cited (8)

  • Bright Chicks Uganda Ltd v Dan Bahingire (High Court Miscellaneous Application No. 254 of 2011)
  • Walfee's (Uganda) Ltd v Ramji Punjabhai Bugerere Tea Estates Ltd [1971] EA 188
  • Micheal Fethun vs The State Case No 458/96 on appeal from the Cape Provincial Division of the High Court of South Africa
  • Tolit Charles Okiro v Otto Cypriano (Civil Revision No. 002 of 2019)
  • Pascal Rwakahanda v Uganda Posts & Telecommunications Corporation (Miscellaneous Application No. 484 of 2014)
  • Lea Associates Limited v Bunga Hill House Limited (Miscellaneous Application No. 348 of 2008)
  • Mulowooza & Brothers Ltd v N Shah & Co Ltd (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 26 of 2010)
  • Matagala Vincent v Uganda Revenue Authority (Miscellaneous Application No. 25 of 2013)

Full judgment

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

City Aluminium & Glass Services v Barclays Bank Uganda Limited (Civil Miscellaneous Application No. 884 of 2020) [2021] UGCommC 2 (11 January 2021)
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.