Wakilii

Ethiopian Airline v Anguyo & Anor (Civil Appeal No. 0204 of 2015)

Court of Appeal · [2020] UGCA 2090 · 2020 Appeal Partly Allowed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
First civil appeal from High Court judgment for the respondents on breach of contract and negligent infliction of emotional distress
Decision
Appeal partly allowed; general damages reduced to UGX 20,000,000, emotional distress award of UGX 100,000,000 set aside, special damages of USD 2,289 awarded with interest and costs to the respondents

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Holding

The Court of Appeal partly allowed the airline's appeal. It upheld the finding that the airline breached the contract of carriage by unjustifiably refusing to allow the second respondent to board on the return leg despite a valid discharge summary confirming fitness to fly, but reduced the general damages for breach of contract from UGX 30,000,000 to UGX 20,000,000. The Court set aside the UGX 100,000,000 award for negligent infliction of emotional distress, holding that this tort is undeveloped in Uganda and, on the applicable North American authorities, requires an injury-producing event witnessed by the claimant, which was absent. It awarded both respondents special damages for airfare and layover costs.

Outcome

Appeal partly allowed; general damages reduced to UGX 20,000,000, emotional distress award of UGX 100,000,000 set aside, special damages of USD 2,289 awarded with interest and costs to the respondents

Facts

The respondents, a married couple, contracted the appellant airline to fly them from Entebbe to Bhubaneswar, India, via Addis Ababa and back, so the second respondent could undergo spinal surgery. A wheelchair request was included in the electronic ticket. After surgery she was issued a discharge summary confirming she was fit to travel. On the return leg from Mumbai to Entebbe, the appellant's agent rejected the discharge summary, demanded a medical certificate from the airline's own physician, refused a wheelchair, allegedly made racial remarks calling them 'black Africans', and subjected them to a search with dogs on suspicion of carrying narcotics. Airline medical personnel later cleared the second respondent as fit to fly, but by then the flight had departed. The respondents returned to their hotel and travelled home on Kenya Airways. They sued for breach of contract and negligent infliction of emotional distress. The trial court found breach of contract and negligent infliction of emotional distress, awarding general and aggravated damages, interest and costs. The airline appealed.

Issues

  1. Whether it was the obligation of the airline to provide a medical information form (MEDIF) to be completed by the traveller.
  2. Whether the second respondent's failure to travel back to Uganda was caused by the appellant's conduct, thereby breaching the contract of carriage.
  3. Whether the principle in the Dr. Wiseman case applied so as to bar recovery for injury to feelings in a breach of contract claim.
  4. Whether what happened to the respondents amounted to negligent infliction of emotional distress recoverable in damages.
  5. Whether the general damages awarded by the trial court were excessive.

Orders

  • Appeal partially succeeds.
  • General damages awarded of UGX 20,000,000 (UGX 5,000,000 for the first respondent and UGX 15,000,000 for the second respondent).
  • Interest on general damages at court rate from the date of the trial court judgment till payment in full.
  • Special damages awarded at USD 2,289 (USD 1,000 for the first respondent, USD 1,000 for the second respondent, USD 289 for hotel services).
  • Interest on special damages at 4% per annum from the date of filing the suit until payment in full.
  • Costs here and in the trial court to the respondents.
  • Award of UGX 100,000,000 for negligent infliction of emotional distress disallowed.

Rules and key headnotes

Contract Law — Carriage by Air — Breach — Unjustified Refusal to Board
An air carrier that unreasonably refuses to allow a passenger to board where the passenger has presented a hospital discharge summary confirming fitness to fly, and where the carrier's own physician later confirms fitness, breaches its contract of carriage.
Contract Law — Carriage by Air — Wheelchair Assistance — Reasonableness of Special Requests
A request for wheelchair assistance at an airport is not so onerous a special request as to justify refusal, and such assistance should not be unreasonably withheld from passengers with a form of disability.
Tort Law — Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress — Requirements for Recovery
The tort of negligent infliction of emotional distress is not well developed in Uganda; on the persuasive North American authorities it requires an injury-producing event witnessed by a claimant closely related to the injured victim, and in the absence of such an event damages are not recoverable.
Damages & Quantum — Appellate Interference with Award — Wrong Principle or Erroneous Estimate
An appellate court will only reverse a trial court's assessment of damages where it is convinced the trial judge acted upon a wrong principle of law or the amount awarded was so extremely high or low as to constitute an entirely erroneous estimate of the damage suffered.
Damages & Quantum — Measure of Damages — Restoration to Pre-Wrong Position
The measure of damages applicable to both contract and tort is the sum that will put the injured party in the same position as if the wrong had not been sustained; general damages for breach of a carriage contract must be commensurate with the value of the contract.

Legislation cited (6)

Cases cited (9)

  • Pandya v R [1957] EA 336
  • Kifamunte Henry v Uganda (Criminal Appeal No. 10 of 1997)
  • Katumba Ronald v Kenya Airways (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 9 of 2008)
  • Dr. Wiseman and Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd case No. Hq05x03112
  • Thing v La Chusa 48 Cal. 3d 644
  • Flint v Lovell [1935] 1 KB 354
  • Robert Cuossens v Attorney General (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 8 of 1999)
  • Livingstone v Rawyards Coal Co (1880) 5 App Cas 25
  • Abnett vs. British Airways Plc. (Scotland)

Full judgment

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

Ethiopian Airline v Anguyo & Anor (Civil Appeal No. 0204 of 2015) [2020] UGCA 2090 (28 August 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.