Wakilii

KAC Chemicals & Paints (U) Ltd v 20 Cube Logistics (U) Ltd (Miscellaneous Application No. 1507 of 2021)

High Court · [2022] UGCOMMC 45 · 2022 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application to dismiss appeal for want of prosecution arising from Chief Magistrate's Court judgment
Decision
Application to dismiss appeal dismissed; appeal to proceed

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

Held that an appeal was not filed out of time where the appellant had diligently requested a certified copy of the record of proceedings from the trial court but the lower court failed to provide it. Under Section 79(2) of the Civil Procedure Act, the thirty-day limitation period does not begin to run until the appellant receives the certified record. The court exercised discretion to excuse the delay, finding the appellant took all necessary steps to prosecute the appeal. Application to dismiss the appeal dismissed.

Outcome

Application to dismiss appeal dismissed; appeal to proceed

Facts

The Applicant sued the Respondent in the Chief Magistrate's Court at Nakawa in Civil Suit No. 417 of 2017 seeking orders relating to transport charges and release of a bill of lading for motor vehicles. Judgment was delivered on 11 June 2019 partly in favour of the Applicant. The Respondent filed a notice of appeal on 21 June 2019 and requested a certified copy of the record of proceedings from the trial court on the same date. The Respondent filed a memorandum of appeal on 7 October 2019 without having received the certified record. The lower court file was transferred to the High Court on 30 October 2019 with a certified record dated 11 October 2019, but the Respondent was never served with it. The Respondent wrote to the High Court Registrar on 20 November 2020 requesting the certified record. The Applicant then filed this application seeking to dismiss the appeal for want of prosecution and for being filed out of time.

Issues

  1. Whether Civil Appeal No. 45 of 2019 should be struck out for want of prosecution.

Orders

  • Application dismissed.
  • No order as to costs.
  • Court to immediately avail the Appellant/Respondent with a certified copy of the lower court proceedings.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Appeals — Limitation Period — Computation of Time — Effect of Delay in Obtaining Certified Record of Proceedings
Under Section 79(2) of the Civil Procedure Act, the thirty-day limitation period for filing an appeal does not begin to run until the appellant receives a certified copy of the decree or order and the record of proceedings from the lower court.
Civil Procedure — Appeals — Prosecution of Appeals — Diligence — Effect of Lower Court's Failure to Provide Record
Where an appellant has taken all necessary steps to obtain the record of proceedings from the lower court but the lower court fails to provide it through no fault of the appellant, the appeal cannot be dismissed for want of prosecution.
Civil Procedure — Appeals — Limitation Period — Exercise of Discretion — Good Cause
A court may exercise discretion under Section 79(1) of the Civil Procedure Act to excuse delay in filing an appeal where the delay was caused by the trial court's failure to issue a certified copy of the record of proceedings despite the appellant's diligent requests.

Legislation cited (7)

Cases cited (2)

  • Buso Foundation Ltd v Bob Mate Philips (Civil Appeal No. 40 of 2009)
  • Migadde & Others v Nakibuule & Others (Civil Appeal No. 53 of 2019)

Full judgment

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

KAC Chemicals & Paints (U) Ltd v 20 Cube Logistics (U) Ltd (Miscellaneous Application No. 1507 of 2021) [2022] UGCommC 45 (29 June 2022)
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.