Wakilii

Green Skyways Agencies Ltd & Anor v Bank of Africa (Misc. Application No. 264 of 2014)

High Court · [2014] UGHCLD 106 · 2014 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application to set aside dismissal order of earlier miscellaneous application for non-appearance
Decision
Dismissal order set aside and earlier application reinstated for hearing

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The court held that counsel's negligence in failing to check the cause list does not bar reinstatement where the applicant demonstrates genuine interest in pursuing the matter. The dismissal of MA 087/14 was set aside because the applicants filed for reinstatement within two days and showed they were genuinely prevented from appearing due to their counsel's inadvertent failure to ascertain the correct judge before whom the matter was listed.

Outcome

Dismissal order set aside and earlier application reinstated for hearing

Facts

The applicants filed MA 087/14 seeking to stay proceedings in HCCS 334/13. The matter was fixed for hearing on 4 March 2014. A clerk in the applicants' law firm inadvertently failed to inform Mr. Musoke that the file had been transferred from Justice Kabanda to Justice Luswata. On the hearing date, Mr. Musoke appeared before Justice Kabanda believing the matter was still before her. Justice Kabanda informed him the matter was not on her cause list and advised him to seek another date. Mr. Musoke failed to check the cause list to confirm which judge had the matter. When the application came before Justice Luswata, neither counsel nor the applicants appeared and the application was dismissed. Two days later, the applicants filed this application to set aside the dismissal.

Issues

  1. Whether the applicants demonstrated sufficient cause for non-appearance to justify setting aside the dismissal order under Order 9 Rule 23 of the Civil Procedure Rules.

Orders

  • Application allowed.
  • Dismissal of Miscellaneous Application No. 87 of 2014 set aside.
  • Order for costs in Miscellaneous Application No. 87 of 2014 set aside.
  • Applicants to meet the costs of this application.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Dismissal for Non-Appearance — Setting Aside under Order 9 Rule 23
Order 9 Rule 23 of the Civil Procedure Rules permits an applicant to apply to set aside a dismissal order made under Order 9 Rule 22 where the applicant satisfies the court that there was sufficient cause for non-appearance when the matter was called for hearing.
Civil Procedure — Sufficient Cause — Counsel Negligence — Effect on Client
Sufficient cause for non-appearance includes negligence of counsel to take necessary steps to prosecute the case, such as failure to appear when the case is called for hearing, and the mistake of an advocate should not be visited upon the innocent party.
Civil Procedure — Reinstatement — Test — Genuine Interest in Pursuing Claim
The purpose of Order 9 Rule 23 is to allow parties who are genuinely interested in pursuing their claims to do so by seeking reinstatement after dismissal for non-appearance; what is vital is for the applicant to show that they honestly intend to proceed with their case, even where their lawyers have been negligent.

Legislation cited (7)

  • Civil Procedure Rules O.9 R.23(1)
  • Civil Procedure Rules O.9 R.23(2)
  • Civil Procedure Rules O.52 R.1
  • Civil Procedure Rules O.52 R.2
  • Civil Procedure Rules O.52 R.3
  • Civil Procedure Act s.98
  • Civil Procedure Rules O.9 R.22

Cases cited (2)

  • William Gubaza v Uganda Electricity Board (High Court Civil Suit No. 571 of 1995)
  • Banco Arabe Espanol v Bank of Uganda (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 8 of 1998)

Full judgment

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

Green Skyways Agencies Ltd & Anor v Bank of Africa (Misc. Application No. 264 of 2014) [2014] UGHCLD 106 (16 June 2014)
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.