Wakilii

Coasta Construction Services v National Water and Sewerage Corporation (HCCS 429 of 2012)

High Court · [2017] UGCOMMC 136 · 2017 Judgment for Defendant AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
First instance civil suit for breach of construction contract and recovery of unpaid amounts
Decision
Suit dismissed with costs to the defendant

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The plaintiff construction company failed to prove its claims for unpaid works, withheld retention, loss of profit, compensation for delays, and interest on late payments. The court held that special damages must be specifically pleaded and strictly proved, which the plaintiff did not do. Additionally, certain claims were barred by a prior partial consent judgment which provided for full and final settlement. The suit was dismissed with costs to the defendant.

Outcome

Suit dismissed with costs to the defendant

Facts

On 4 November 2009, the plaintiff and defendant entered into a construction contract for a chemical store at Gaba water works for UGX 439,508,057. The plaintiff alleged numerous breaches by the defendant including delayed site handover, inadequate drawings, poor designs, failure to certify variations, delayed responses, and late payments. The plaintiff terminated the contract on 25 November 2011. A partial consent judgment was entered on 22 March 2013 whereby the defendant paid UGX 64,544,847 covering various aspects including full and final payment for retention and interest on delayed certified payments. The plaintiff subsequently brought this suit claiming additional amounts totaling UGX 126,211,120 (later reduced to UGX 57,001,921) for unpaid works, retention, loss of profit, compensation for delays, and interest.

Issues

  1. Whether the defendant owes the plaintiff any monies and if so what?
  2. What remedies are the parties entitled to?

Orders

  • Suit dismissed.
  • Defendant awarded costs of the suit.

Rules and key headnotes

Evidence — Special Damages — Burden of Proof — Pleading and Proof Requirements
A claim for special damages must be specifically pleaded and strictly proved. It is not enough to write down particulars and present them to court without proof. While documentary evidence is not required in all cases, the plaintiff bears the burden of proving special damages claimed.
Contract Law — Consent Judgments — Estoppel — Full and Final Settlement
Where parties enter into a consent judgment providing for full and final settlement of particular claims, a party is estopped from subsequently bringing further claims on the same matters covered by the consent judgment.
Contract Law — Damages — Loss of Profit — Proof Requirements
A claim for loss of profit must be specifically proved and cannot be based on unilateral anticipation or expectation of profit percentage not agreed upon in the contract. Where no contractual basis exists for the claimed percentage, the claim fails for lack of proof.
Evidence — General Damages — Relationship to Special Damages
Where a plaintiff fails to prove special damages, the court is unable to award general damages arising from the same claim, as there is no proven foundation for the compensatory award.

Legislation cited (1)

Cases cited (5)

  • Nalwadda v Uganda Aids Commission (Civil Suit No. 67 of 2011)
  • Kampala District Land Board & George Mitala v Venansio Babweyana (SCCA No. 2 of 2007)
  • Assist (U) v Italian Asphalt & Haulage & Another (HCCS No. 1291 of 1999)
  • Moses Kizige Vs Muzakawo Batolewo [1981] HCB
  • Uganda Commercial Bank Vs Deo Kigozi (2002) EA 293

Full judgment

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

Coasta Construction Services v National Water and Sewerage Corporation (HCCS 429 of 2012) [2017] UGCommC 136 (9 July 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.