Wakilii

Kabanda v YY Coaches & Courier Services Limited & Another (Civil Suit 144 of 2022)

High Court · [2024] UGHCCD 169 · 2024 Preliminary Objections Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Ruling on preliminary objections raised by defendants in a civil suit for damages arising from a fatal motor vehicle accident
Decision
Preliminary objections dismissed; matter to proceed to full hearing on the merits

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The court overruled all four preliminary objections raised by the defendants. The court held that the plaintiff properly joined both defendants under Order 1 rule 7 CPR where doubt existed as to which was liable; that vicarious liability does not require the tortfeasor employee to be joined as a party; that the question of damages and life expectancy must be determined after hearing evidence and cannot be resolved by preliminary objection; and that the plaintiff could properly sue as a family member under the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act without being an executrix or administrator.

Outcome

Preliminary objections dismissed; matter to proceed to full hearing on the merits

Facts

The plaintiff's husband was killed instantly in a motor vehicle accident along Kampala-Jinja Highway at Nakawa when Motor Vehicle Regn. No. UAV 205T collided with another vehicle and knocked him. The bus bore the inscriptions 'YY Coaches' and was registered in the name of the 2nd defendant but driven by Ahmed Abdullah Hassan, whom the defendants admitted was their employee acting in the course of duty. The defendants contributed UGX 1,000,000 towards burial expenses and promised compensation. The plaintiff sued both defendants under the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act for damages arising from the fatal accident. The defendants raised four preliminary objections challenging the maintainability of the suit.

Issues

  1. Whether the action against the 1st defendant is maintainable.
  2. Whether the 2nd defendant can be vicariously liable for actions of the alleged employee (driver) who is not sued.
  3. Whether, given that the plaintiff cannot recover damages on account of conceded old age of the deceased, the defendants can be vicariously liable for economic loss to the plaintiff.
  4. Whether the suit is maintainable under the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act.

Orders

  • All the preliminary points of law raised by counsel for the Defendants fail and are hereby over ruled with costs.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Joinder of Defendants — Joinder in the Alternative Where Doubt Exists
Where a plaintiff is in doubt as to which of two persons is liable for the relief claimed, the plaintiff may join both as defendants under Order 1 rule 7 of the Civil Procedure Rules so that the question of liability and extent may be determined between all parties.
Tort Law — Vicarious Liability — No Requirement to Sue Employee Jointly with Employer
In motor vehicle accident cases, the tortfeasor employee need not be sued jointly with the employer; what matters is for the plaintiff to show that the driver was the owner's servant or agent acting in the course of duty, and the employer may be held vicariously liable without the employee being a party to the suit.
Civil Procedure — Preliminary Objections — Matters Requiring Evidence or Exercise of Discretion
A preliminary objection raises a pure point of law argued on the assumption that all facts pleaded are correct; it cannot be raised if any fact has to be ascertained or if what is sought is the exercise of judicial discretion.
Tort Law — Damages — Assessment of Quantum Cannot Be Determined by Preliminary Objection
Questions of general damages, including whether a deceased had exceeded working life expectancy and what quantum should be awarded, require evidence and are within the court's discretion; such matters cannot be determined by preliminary objection but must be decided after hearing the parties' evidence.
Tort Law — Fatal Accidents — Standing of Family Members Under Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act
Under section 6 of the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, a member of the family of a deceased person who was a dependant may bring an action for damages arising from the death without being an executor or administrator of the estate.

Legislation cited (9)

Cases cited (20)

  • Interfreight Forwards (U) Ltd v East African Development Bank (Court of Appeal No. 33 of 1992)
  • Okupa v Attorney General & 13 Others (Miscellaneous Cause No. 14 of 2005)
  • Muwonge -v- Attorney General [1967] EA 17
  • Shabique Clance Vsomar Palmer & Anor, SC, Jamaica page 36 at paragraph 96
  • Carolyne Turyatemba & Another v Attorney General & Another (Constitutional Petition No. 15 of 2006)
  • Colonial Mutual Life Assurance society-v- producers and Citizens Co-operative Assurance Co. of Australia Ltd (1931) 46 CLR 41 at 49
  • The Board of Governors of St. Mary's School -v- Boli Festus Andrew Sio CACA No. 413 of 2017 (Kenya)
  • Ngumboa -v- Mwatate & Ors [1988] KLR 549
  • Phenehas Agaba v Swift Freight International Ltd (High Court Civil Suit No. 143 of 2000)
  • Akware Caroline Osilo v Gaaga Enterprises Ltd (High Court Civil Suit No. 271 of 2011)
  • Bagenda Byabe Tommy v Pioneer Easy Bus Limited (High Court Civil Suit No. 36 of 2016)
  • Paul Byekwaso v Attorney General (Court of Appeal Civil Appeal No. 10 of 2002)
  • Grace Kimera v Kibaaya (High Court Civil Suit No. 23 of 1994)
  • Woodland -v- Essex County (2913) UK SC 66
  • Amina Musoni v Akamba (U) Ltd & GASO Transport Services Ltd (High Court Civil Suit No. 656 of 1991)
  • Mukisa Biscuit Manufacturing Co Ltd -v- West End Distributors Ltd [1969] 1 EA 696
  • James Fredrick Nsubuga v Attorney General (High Court Civil Suit No. 13 of 1993)
  • Robert Coussens v Attorney General (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 08 of 1999)
  • Kampala District Land Board & George Mitala v Venansio Babweyana (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 2 of 2007)
  • Uganda Electricity Board v G.W Musoke (Court of Appeal No. 30 of 1993)

Full judgment

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Kabanda v YY Coaches & Courier Services Limited & Another (Civil Suit 144 of 2022) [2024] UGHCCD 169 (24 October 2024)
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.