Wakilii

Fine Spinners Uganda Limited v A to Z Textile Mills Limited (Misc. Application No. 152 of 2025)

High Court · [2025] UGCOMMC 87 · 2025 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Interlocutory application for leave to amend written statement of defence and counterclaim arising from Civil Suit No. 1023 of 2023
Decision
Application granted. Applicant given leave to amend its written statement of defence and counterclaim within 14 days, with respondent to file amended reply within 14 days thereafter.

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

Citator coverage is limited to judgments in the Wakilii corpus and source-matched treatment records. Absence of a signal is not an assertion that the case remains good law.

AI-generated summary. This summary was generated by AI from the full text of the judgment. It may contain errors or omissions—always read the source judgment before relying on it.

Holding

The High Court Commercial Division granted an application for leave to amend a written statement of defence and counterclaim where the applicant sought to correct accounting errors discovered during a comprehensive audit. The court held that amendments should be freely allowed before hearing provided they do not occasion injustice to the other party. The proposed amendments added particulars to the existing claim but did not introduce new facts or causes of action and the respondent failed to demonstrate prejudice.

Outcome

Application granted. Applicant given leave to amend its written statement of defence and counterclaim within 14 days, with respondent to file amended reply within 14 days thereafter.

Facts

In Civil Suit No. 1023 of 2023, A to Z Textile Mills sued Fine Spinners Uganda Limited for USD 33,123.35 being outstanding payment for fabric supplied. Fine Spinners filed a defence and counterclaim alleging the respondent supplied poor quality fabric causing losses, initially claiming USD 826,583 based on a productivity loss statement. Fine Spinners subsequently conducted a comprehensive audit and reconciled its accounting books, discovering that the original productivity loss statement contained grave errors and did not reflect accurate affairs. The corrected statement showed losses of USD 2,697,093.38. Fine Spinners applied for leave to amend its written statement of defence and counterclaim to reflect the corrected figures and provide better particulars. The hearing had not yet commenced.

Issues

  1. Whether the Applicant should be granted leave to amend its pleadings in Civil Suit No. 1023 of 2023.
  2. What remedies are available to the parties.

Orders

  • The Applicant is hereby granted leave to amend its written statement of defence and counterclaim in High Court Civil Suit No.1023 of 2023 by amending the amount claimed and providing better particulars of the same.
  • The Applicant shall file and serve the amended written statement of defence and counterclaim to the Respondent within fourteen (14) days from the date of this Ruling.
  • The Respondent shall file and serve its amended reply to the written statement of defence and counterclaim within fourteen (14) days after receipt of the amended written statement of defence and counterclaim.
  • Costs of this application shall be in the cause.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Amendment of Pleadings — Exercise of Discretion
Under Order 6 rule 19 of the Civil Procedure Rules, the court has discretionary power to allow amendment of pleadings at any stage of proceedings in such manner and on such terms as may be just, and all such amendments shall be made as may be necessary for the purpose of determining the real questions in controversy between the parties.
Civil Procedure — Amendment of Pleadings — Principles Governing Amendment
The principles governing amendment of pleadings include that: (i) the amendment should not work an injustice on the other side; (ii) multiplicity of proceedings should be avoided and all amendments which avoid such multiplicities should be allowed; (iii) an application made malafide should not be granted; and (iv) no amendment should be allowed where it is expressly or impliedly prohibited by law.
Civil Procedure — Amendment of Pleadings — Substitution of Cause of Action
The powers of amendment should not be used to substitute one cause of action for another or change an action into another of a substantially different character.
Civil Procedure — Amendment Before Hearing — Liberal Approach
Amendments of pleadings sought before the hearing of the case should be freely allowed provided they do not occasion an injustice to the other party.
Civil Procedure — Amendment of Pleadings — Addition of Particulars
An amendment that adds particulars to an existing claim without introducing new facts or causes of action will ordinarily be allowed where the respondent has not demonstrated any injustice that will be suffered and the amended sums fall under the same claim subject to proof at trial.

Legislation cited (6)

Cases cited (3)

  • Gaso Transport Services (Bus) Ltd v Martin Adala Obene (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 4 of 1994)
  • Eastern Bakery v Castelino [1958] 1 EA 461
  • Mulowooza & Brothers Ltd v N. Shah & Co. Ltd (Court of Appeal Civil Appeal No. 26 of 2010)

Full judgment

↓ Download PDF

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

Fine Spinners Uganda Limited v A to Z Textile Mills Limited (Misc. Application No. 152 of 2025) [2025] UGCommC 87 (14 March 2025)
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.