Wakilii

Kasozi and 18 Others v Uganda Baati Limited (Miscellaneous Application 37 of 2023)

Industrial Court · [2023] UGIC 55 · 2023 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for leave to amend memorandum of claim arising from Labour Dispute Reference No. 040 of 2022
Decision
Application for leave to amend granted with costs to the respondent

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The Industrial Court granted the applicants leave to amend their memorandum of claim to include prayers for declarations of unlawful and illegal termination. The court held that the proposed amendments did not introduce a new or distinct cause of action, as all claims arose from the termination of employment and its lawfulness. The amendments would allow the court to determine all matters in controversy between the parties and avoid multiplicity of proceedings. Costs of the application were awarded to the respondent due to the applicants' improper reliance on confidential mediation information.

Outcome

Application for leave to amend granted with costs to the respondent

Facts

The applicants, 19 former employees of Uganda Baati Ltd, filed a labour dispute claim seeking declarations and damages for illegal deductions and erroneous calculation of terminal benefits following their termination in August 2020 during a restructuring exercise. The applicants sought leave to amend their memorandum of claim to include additional prayers for declarations of unfair, unlawful or illegal collective termination. They claimed to have discovered new facts from the respondent's reply and during mediation proceedings. The respondent opposed the application, arguing that the amendments introduced a new cause of action and that information from mediation was inadmissible. Both parties filed pleadings and submissions outside court-ordered timelines.

Issues

  1. Whether the applicants should be granted leave to amend their memorandum of claim to include an additional prayer for a declaration of unfair, unlawful or illegal collective termination.
  2. Whether the proposed amendments introduce a new or distinct cause of action.
  3. Whether the applicants' reliance on information obtained during mediation proceedings is permissible.
  4. Whether the delay in filing the application for amendment should bar the grant of leave.

Orders

  • The Applicants are granted leave to amend the memorandum of claim.
  • The amended memorandum of claim shall be filed in Court within seven days from the date of this order.
  • The Respondent shall file a reply within seven days from the date of service of the amended claim.
  • The Respondent shall have taxed costs of the application in any event.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Amendment of Pleadings — Principles Governing Grant of Leave
Amendments should be allowed by courts so that the real question in controversy between the parties is determined and justice is administered without undue regard to technicalities, provided the amendment does not work injustice to the other side that cannot be compensated by costs, does not substitute one distinctive cause of action for another, is not made malafide, and is not expressly or impliedly prohibited by law.
Civil Procedure — Amendment of Pleadings — New Cause of Action
An amendment does not introduce a new or distinct cause of action where the claims are inextricably linked to the same underlying facts and legal relationship, even if additional declaratory relief is sought that was not explicitly stated in the original pleading but was raised in subsequent pleadings.
Civil Procedure — Mediation — Confidentiality of Mediation Proceedings
Matters disclosed during mediation proceedings are confidential and inadmissible in the main trial under Rule 18 of the Judicature (Mediation) Rules 2013, and confidentiality is at the centre of the mediation process which cannot survive without true confidentiality.
Civil Procedure — Compliance with Court Orders — Filing Timelines
Timelines set by statute or ordered by court are not set in vain and court orders are to be obeyed as a central tenet of the justice system, and the consequence of non-compliance with filing orders would ordinarily be that pleadings and submissions filed out of time would be expunged from the record.
Civil Procedure — Amendment of Pleadings — Delay in Filing Application
Under Order 6 Rule 19 of the Civil Procedure Rules, the court may permit amendment of pleadings at any stage of the proceedings, and delay by a litigant in bringing a formal application to amend is not in itself a ground for refusing the amendment unless the respondent can show prejudice.
Employment & Labour — Labour Disputes — Costs in Employment Disputes
In employment disputes before the Industrial Court, costs are the exception rather than the rule, but costs may be awarded against a party for misconduct, including improper disregard of explicit provisions of law such as the confidentiality requirements in mediation.

Legislation cited (4)

Cases cited (18)

  • Mulowoza Brothers Ltd v N. Shah & Co Ltd (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 26 of 2020)
  • Wasswa v Achen [1978] HCB 297
  • Mulowooza Brothers v Shah Ltd (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 26 of 2010)
  • Bright Chicks Uganda Ltd v Dan Bahingine (High Court Miscellaneous Application No. 254 of 2011)
  • Mbayo J. Robert v Electoral Commission and Another (Election Petition No. 7 of 2006)
  • Oola Peters and Others v Lanen Mary (High Court Civil Appeal No. 18 of 2017)
  • Dr. Lam Lagoro James v Muni University (Miscellaneous Civil Cause No. 7 of 2016)
  • Sarope Petroleum Ltd v Orient Bank and 2 Others (High Court Miscellaneous Application No. 72 of 2011)
  • Gaso Transport Ltd v Obene [1990-1994] EA 88
  • Ham Enterprises Ltd and 2 Others v Diamond Trust Bank (U) Ltd and Another (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 13 of 2021)
  • Mulindwa George William v Kisibika Joseph (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 12 of 2014)
  • Stop and See (U) Ltd v Tropical Africa Bank Ltd (High Court Miscellaneous Application No. 333 of 2010)
  • Trans-Drakensberg Bank Limited v Combined Engineering and Another [1967] 4 All SA(D)
  • Okello Wilbert v Obel Ronald
  • Okello Peters and Others v Abacus Parenteral Drugs Ltd (High Court Miscellaneous Application No. 35 of 2022)
  • Eastern Bakery v Castelino [1958] 1 EA 461
  • Oyuko Moses v Centenary Rural Development Bank (Labour Dispute Miscellaneous Application No. 130 of 2018)
  • Joseph Kalule v G1Z (Labour Dispute Reference No. 109 of 2020)

Full judgment

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

Kasozi_and_18_Others_v_Uganda_Baati_Limited_(Miscellaneous_Application_37_of_2023)_[2023]_UGIC_55_(30_August_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.