Wakilii

Karenget v Aljouda Mining Company Limited (Miscellaneous Application 451 of 2023)

High Court · [2024] UGCOMMC 252 · 2024 Application Dismissed — Restitution Ordered AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application to set aside consent judgment and decree arising from Civil Suit No. 284 of 2022
Decision
Application dismissed but respondent ordered to refund excess payment of UGX 928,000,000 within 30 days

Observed later treatment

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Holding

The court dismissed the application to set aside the consent judgment on grounds of undue influence and misrepresentation. The applicant had voluntarily waived legal representation and consented to judgment with full knowledge of material facts. However, the court found that the applicant had overpaid the respondent by UGX 928,000,000 beyond the agreed purchase price. The respondent was ordered to refund the excess amount within 30 days on grounds of unjust enrichment.

Outcome

Application dismissed but respondent ordered to refund excess payment of UGX 928,000,000 within 30 days

Facts

On 18 June 2019, the respondent sold land in Iganga District to the applicant for UGX 3,700,000,000. The applicant paid UGX 1,600,000,000 at execution, leaving a balance of UGX 2,100,000,000. The applicant obtained a loan from Equity Bank which transferred UGX 2,060,000,000 to the respondent on 24 July 2019. However, the respondent claimed the bank transfer was never received and sued for UGX 1,200,000,000. On 1 August 2022, the parties entered a consent judgment for the claimed amount. The applicant subsequently paid UGX 900,000,000 pursuant to the consent, plus an additional UGX 68,000,000 in installments. The applicant later discovered that the bank transfer of UGX 2,060,000,000 had in fact been received by the respondent and applied to set aside the consent judgment. The total payments made by the applicant amounted to UGX 4,628,000,000, exceeding the purchase price by UGX 928,000,000.

Issues

  1. Whether the application discloses grounds for setting aside the consent judgment dated 1st August 2022.
  2. What remedies are available to the parties.

Orders

  • Application to set aside consent judgment and decree dismissed.
  • Respondent ordered to refund UGX 928,000,000 to the Applicant within thirty (30) days from the date of delivery of the ruling.
  • Costs awarded to the Applicant.

Rules and key headnotes

Consent Judgments — Setting Aside — Grounds — Undue Influence and Misrepresentation
A consent judgment may be set aside only in circumstances that would afford good ground for varying or rescinding a contract between the parties, including fraud, collusion, absence of consensus, agreements contrary to public policy, or where consent was given without sufficient material facts, in misapprehension or ignorance of material facts, or in general for a reason which would enable the court to set aside an agreement.
Consent Judgments — Setting Aside — Undue Influence — Voluntary Waiver of Legal Representation
Where a party voluntarily and unequivocally waives the right to legal representation and confirms acceptance of liability before court, that party is estopped from later claiming that absence of legal advice led to execution of consent under undue influence. Undue influence requires improper pressure that deprives a party of free will, not merely the absence of counsel where representation was knowingly waived.
Misrepresentation — Elements of Actionable Misrepresentation
An actionable misrepresentation requires: (1) a statement of material fact; (2) made by one party to a contract to the other; (3) during negotiations leading to contract formation; (4) intended to operate and operating as an inducement to the other party to enter the contract; (5) not intended as a binding contract obligation; and (6) which was untrue, false, or incorrectly stated.
Restitution — Unjust Enrichment — Overpayment of Purchase Price
A person who has been unjustly enriched at the expense of another is required to make restitution to the other. Where a purchaser overpays the agreed purchase price, the seller is unjustly enriched and must refund the excess amount. The principle applies where money which, ex aequo et bono, ought not in justice to be kept by the defendant must be refunded.

Legislation cited (5)

Cases cited (2)

  • Ismail Sunderji Hirani v Noorali Esmail Kassam [1952] EA 131
  • Brooke Bond Liebig (T) Ltd v Mallya [1975] 1 EA 266

Full judgment

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

Karenget v Aljouda Mining Company Limited (Miscellaneous Application 451 of 2023) [2024] UGCommC 252 (5 August 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.