Wakilii

James Park v East African Educational Publishers Ltd (HCCS 155 of 2011)

High Court · [2013] UGCOMMC 74 · 2013 Judgment for Plaintiff AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
First instance civil suit for breach of contract and account of royalties
Decision
Judgment for plaintiff with damages, interest and costs awarded

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

Court held that defendant publisher breached publishing agreements by failing to render semi-annual accounts to the plaintiff author from 2004 onwards and by denying the plaintiff royalty payments for over seven years. Plaintiff awarded general damages totalling UGX 20,996,246 being an estimate of lost royalty income based on limited accounting periods provided, plus damages for inconvenience, together with interest at 20% per annum and costs.

Outcome

Judgment for plaintiff with damages, interest and costs awarded

Facts

The plaintiff James Park authored three adventure series books under the pen name Juma Bustani. In 1998 he entered publishing agreements with Heinemann Kenya Ltd (later becoming the defendant) for publication of Adventure in Nakuru, Adventure in Nairobi and Adventure in Mombasa. The contracts required the defendant to pay 10% royalties on Kenya published price semi-annually with accounts rendered every six months. The defendant paid royalties regularly until 2004, then ceased making payments or providing account statements. Despite reminders, no payments were made until 2011 when plaintiff filed suit and defendant paid Kenya shillings 255,915.20. Defendant admitted owing plaintiff money but disputed quantum. Evidence showed books continued to be reprinted and marketed globally via the Internet from 2004 onwards, but no accounts were rendered for the periods 2005-2009 and from May 2011 onwards.

Issues

  1. Whether the defendant owes the plaintiff any outstanding money in royalties.
  2. If so, how much is owed.
  3. What remedies are available to the parties.

Orders

  • Plaintiff awarded general damages totalling Uganda shillings 20,996,246.
  • Interest awarded at the rate of 20% per annum from the date of filing the suit to the date of judgment.
  • Interest awarded at 20% on the aggregate sum from the date of judgment till payment in full.
  • Costs of the suit awarded to the plaintiff.

Rules and key headnotes

Breach of Publishing Agreement — Failure to Render Accounts
Where a publishing agreement requires a publisher to render semi-annual accounts to an author and the publisher fails to provide accounts for several years while continuing to publish and sell the author's works, this constitutes fundamental breach of contract.
Copyright — Royalty Obligations Under Publishing Agreements
A publisher who continues to reprint, market and sell an author's copyrighted works but fails to account to the author or pay royalties as contractually required breaches both the accounting and payment obligations under the publishing agreement.
Assessment of Damages — Estimation Where Defendant Withholds Information
Where a defendant's breach of contract consists of failure to provide accounts and the plaintiff cannot prove the exact quantum of loss due to the defendant's withholding of sales information, the court may award general damages based on a fair estimate derived from available partial accounting periods.
Breach of Contract — Loss of Income
An author whose publisher fails to render accounts and pay royalties for over seven years is entitled to general damages for loss of income calculated by applying the mean net royalty figure from available accounting periods to the unaccounted period.
General Damages — Inconvenience
In addition to damages for lost income, a plaintiff who suffers inconvenience due to a defendant's breach of contract in withholding payments is entitled to general damages for such inconvenience, which may be assessed as a percentage of the loss of income.

Legislation cited (2)

Cases cited (3)

  • Milly Masembe v Sugar Corporation of Lugazi [2002] 2 EA 434
  • Kamugisha Leonard v Uganda Revenue Authority (HCCS No. 311 of 2011)
  • Dharamshi v Karsan [1974] 1 EA 41

Full judgment

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

James Park v East African Educational Publishers Ltd (HCCS 155 of 2011) [2013] UGCommC 74 (26 April 2013)
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.