Wakilii

Guzime v Byaruhanga and Another (Miscellaneous Application 1 of 2023)

High Court · [2023] UGHC 94 · 2023 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for leave to amend plaint in pending civil suit
Decision
Applicant granted leave to amend plaint to include prayer for distribution and division of the estate of the late Bagenda Yolamu Wandera

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The court granted the applicant leave to amend his plaint to add a prayer for distribution and division of the deceased's estate. The amendment did not substitute the cause of action but merely added a relief relating to the same facts. No prejudice was caused to the respondents, who were also estate beneficiaries.

Outcome

Applicant granted leave to amend plaint to include prayer for distribution and division of the estate of the late Bagenda Yolamu Wandera

Facts

The applicant filed Civil Suit No. 51 of 2022 against the respondents for trespass to land at Nyangahya Division, Masindi District. The applicant's claim was that he occupied a plot gifted to him by his late father, Bagenda Yolamu Wandera, and that after the father's death, the respondents trespassed on the suit land. The applicant later sought to amend the plaint to add a prayer for distribution and division of the late father's estate, stating that the estate had never been legally distributed and the respondents occupied approximately three quarters of it. The respondents opposed the amendment, alleging it substituted the cause of action.

Issues

  1. Whether the applicant should be granted unconditional leave to amend his plaint in Civil Suit No. 51 of 2022.

Orders

  • Application allowed.
  • Applicant granted leave to amend plaint in Civil Suit No. 51 of 2022.
  • No order as to costs.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Amendment of Pleadings — Principles Governing Grant of Leave
The court has discretion under Order 6 rule 19 of the Civil Procedure Rules to allow amendment of pleadings at any stage provided the amendment does not work an injustice to the other party, is not made malafide, avoids multiplicity of proceedings, and is not prohibited by law.
Civil Procedure — Amendment of Pleadings — Addition of Relief Does Not Substitute Cause of Action
Where an applicant seeks to add a prayer for relief arising from the same bundle of facts underlying the original claim, the amendment does not amount to substitution of the cause of action and should be allowed where it causes no prejudice to the other party.
Civil Procedure — Cause of Action — Definition and Test
A cause of action is every fact which, if traversed, the plaintiff must prove to support a right to judgment. It is a bundle of facts which, taken with the law applicable, gives the plaintiff a right to relief. The cause of action must be antecedent to the institution of the suit and does not depend on the defence raised or the character of relief prayed for.

Legislation cited (3)

Cases cited (7)

  • Gaso Transport Services Ltd v Martin Adala Obene (SCCA No. 4 of 1994)
  • Lubowa Gyaviira and Others v Makerere University (HCMA No. 47 of 2009)
  • Eastern Bakery v Castelino (1959) EA 461
  • Namugenyi Margret Ntabaazi and Another v Nambi Stellah and 4 Others (HCMA No. 486 of 2016)
  • Major General David Tinyefuza v Attorney General (Constitutional Appeal No. 1 of 1997)
  • Tororo Cement Co Ltd v Frokina International Ltd (Civil Appeal No. 2 of 2001) [2002] UGSC 24
  • Auto Garage Vs Motokov

Full judgment

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

Guzime v Byaruhanga and Another (Miscellaneous Application 1 of 2023) [2023] UGHC 94 (27 October 2023)
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.