Wakilii

Frontier Logistics International (U) Ltd and Another v Absa Bank (U) Limited (Miscellaneous Application No. 1755 of 2025 (Arising from Civil Suit No. 0119 of 2019))

High Court · [2026] UGCommC 3 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for discovery of documents arising from civil suit for recovery of debt
Decision
Application for discovery dismissed

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

An application for discovery of a valuation report was dismissed where the applicants failed to demonstrate the document was in the respondent's possession. The court held that contractual obligation to provide the valuation lay with the applicants under the facility letters, and the respondent's unchallenged assertion that it could not locate the document after search was accepted. While the document was found relevant and material to the defence of fraud, and not privileged, the applicants did not meet all three requirements for an order for discovery.

Outcome

Application for discovery dismissed

Facts

The respondent bank sued the applicants in Civil Suit No. 0119 of 2019 for recovery of debt arising from a loan disbursed to the 1st applicant and guaranteed by the 2nd applicant. The loan was secured against land at Kibuga Block 4 Plot 890. The applicants brought this application seeking an order that the respondent deliver a copy of the valuation report for the said land, asserting they needed it to prove fraud and undervaluation in the realization of the security. The respondent produced facility letters dated 27 July 2016 showing the contractual obligation to obtain and provide the valuation report lay with the 1st applicant. The respondent stated it had searched its records and could not locate the valuation report.

Issues

  1. Whether the Applicants have adduced sufficient grounds for orders sought?
  2. What remedies are available?

Orders

  • Application dismissed with costs in the cause.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Discovery of Documents — Requirements for Order
An order for discovery requires the applicant to prove three elements: (1) the documents are relevant and material to the issues in the suit; (2) the documents are not privileged or otherwise protected; and (3) the documents are within the possession, custody and control of the respondent.
Civil Procedure — Discovery — Document Not in Possession of Respondent
An order for discovery should be denied when the respondent asserts that the requested documents do not exist or are not in its possession, custody, or control unless there is contrary evidence from the applicant.
Evidence — Burden of Proof — Contractual Obligations
Where facility letters place a contractual obligation on a borrower to provide a valuation report to the lender, the burden lies on the borrower to retain a copy of that document, and the lender's subsequent inability to locate it does not ground an order for discovery where the borrower adduces no evidence that the lender had possession.

Legislation cited (8)

Cases cited (9)

Full judgment

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Frontier Logistics International (U) Ltd and Another v Absa Bank (U) Limited (Miscellaneous Application No. 1755 of 2025 (Arising from Civil Suit No. 0119 of 2019)) [2026] UGCommC
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.