Wakilii

Kirunda Faisal v Jjuko James (Cv. Cs. No.747 Of 2005) (Cv. Cs. No.747 of 2005)

High Court · [2009] UGHC 148 · 2009 Judgment for Plaintiff AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
First instance civil suit for recovery of balance of purchase price
Decision
Judgment for plaintiff with principal sum, interest and costs awarded

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

Held that the defendant was liable to pay the balance of UGX 3,000,000 on the motor vehicle purchase price. The written sales agreement of 4 November 2003 clearly established that the defendant was responsible for taxes and registration fees in addition to the purchase price, as evidenced by the defendant taking possession of the registered log book and issuing post-dated cheques for the balance. The court awarded interest at 20% per annum from 4 November 2003 but refused the contractual rate of 5% per day as unreasonably high.

Outcome

Judgment for plaintiff with principal sum, interest and costs awarded

Facts

The plaintiff sold a 1993 Mark II motor vehicle (registration UAF 320D) to the defendant for UGX 8,200,000, which was equivalent to USD 4,864. The defendant made partial payments of USD 300 on 31 December 2001 and USD 2,600 on 27 October 2003, leaving a balance of UGX 3,000,000. The vehicle was registered in Uganda in the plaintiff's name on 1 November 2003 after payment of taxes and registration fees totalling UGX 3,800,000. On 4 November 2003, both parties executed a vehicle sales agreement stating the total purchase price including taxes and fees as UGX 12,000,000, with UGX 9,000,000 paid and a balance of UGX 3,000,000 remaining. The defendant took possession of the log book and issued two post-dated cheques, each for UGX 1,500,000, to cover the balance. The cheques were dishonoured when presented. The dispute centered on whether the defendant or plaintiff was responsible for paying the taxes and registration fees.

Issues

  1. Whether the defendant is indebted to the plaintiff for the balance of the purchase price of the motor vehicle.
  2. What remedies are available to the parties.

Orders

  • Judgment entered for the plaintiff against the defendant.
  • Defendant to pay the plaintiff UGX 3,000,000 as principal sum.
  • Defendant to pay interest on UGX 3,000,000 at the rate of 20% per annum from 4 November 2003 until payment in full.
  • Costs awarded to the plaintiff, to be taxed at the High Court scale.

Rules and key headnotes

Contract Law — Written Contracts — Interpretation — Parol Evidence Rule
Where a contract is in writing and its terms are clear, the court must give effect to those terms and confine the parties within the four corners of the document. Neither party may adduce evidence that their intention has been misstated in the document. This is the parol evidence rule provided for by sections 91 and 92 of the Evidence Act.
Contract Law — Sale of Goods — Purchase Price — Responsibility for Taxes and Registration Fees
Where written receipts and agreements consistently state that the purchase price is exclusive of registration expenses in Uganda, and the purchaser takes possession of a registered log book after executing a fresh agreement acknowledging a higher total price and outstanding balance, the purchaser is bound by that agreement and remains liable for the balance notwithstanding payment of taxes and registration fees.
Contract Law — Acknowledgment of Debt — Issuance of Post-dated Cheques
The issuance of post-dated cheques for an amount stated as the balance due on a purchase price constitutes confirmation and acknowledgment that the debt is owed. Where such cheques are dishonoured when presented, the debt remains enforceable.
Contract Law — Interest — Contractual Interest Rates — Reasonableness
A contractual interest rate of 5% per day is unreasonably high and the court will refuse to enforce it. The court may substitute a reasonable commercial rate such as 20% per annum to adequately compensate a business person deprived of the use of money.
Civil Procedure — Pleadings — Amendment — Variance Between Pleadings and Evidence
Where a plaintiff claims a higher sum in the plaint but the evidence establishes a lower sum as the actual amount due, and both sums are based on the same facts available to the defendant throughout, the failure to formally amend the pleadings does not cause a miscarriage of justice to the defendant.

Legislation cited (2)

  • Evidence Act Cap.6 s.91
  • Evidence Act Cap.6 s.92

Full judgment

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

Kirunda Faisal v Jjuko James (Cv. Cs. No.747 Of 2005) (Cv. Cs. No.747 of 2005) [2009] UGHC 148 (11 May 2009)
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.