Wakilii

Kyotera Victoria Fishnets Ltd v Commisioner General URA & Anor (Civil Suit None of 2014)

High Court · [2018] UGCOMMC 15 · 2018 Judgment for Plaintiff AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
First instance civil suit for breach of consent decree and recovery of goods or their value
Decision
Judgment for Plaintiff with orders for release of goods or payment of their value, interest, general damages, and costs

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

Held that the Defendants breached a consent decree by failing to release all seized goods to the Plaintiff after payment of assessed taxes. The burden of rebutting evidence of under-release shifted to the Defendants once the Plaintiff produced release orders showing shortfalls. The Defendants failed to discharge this burden. Where a party breaches a consent decree and retains trade goods, the other party is entitled to the goods or their value plus interest from the date of the decree. General damages are recoverable for economic inconvenience caused by the breach, assessed at UGX 20 million.

Outcome

Judgment for Plaintiff with orders for release of goods or payment of their value, interest, general damages, and costs

Facts

On 3 May 2012, URA seized a container belonging to the Plaintiff containing fishing twines, fishing nets, and televisions. On 9 May 2012, URA searched and sealed the Plaintiff's warehouse. On 6 July 2012, URA re-entered the warehouse in the Plaintiff's absence and seized additional goods. The Plaintiff sued in Civil Suit No. 312 of 2012. On 12 March 2013, the parties entered a consent decree whereby the Plaintiff agreed to pay UGX 20,335,118 in taxes and penalties, and the Defendants agreed to release the seized goods. The consent decree also recorded that 796 bales of fishnets and 6,304 cartons of fish twines had already been released. The Plaintiff paid the agreed sum. Release of goods commenced in October 2012. Some packaging had burst during storage, and goods were scattered. The Plaintiff contended that not all goods were released. The parties held reconciliation meetings and agreed to determine quantities by weight where packaging was destroyed. The Plaintiff claimed 181 bales of fishnets and 1,624 cartons of twines remained unreleased. The Defendants' own release orders and the evidence of their warehouse officer supported the Plaintiff's claim.

Issues

  1. Whether all the goods intercepted and seized by the Defendants were released to the Plaintiff.
  2. If not, what is the value of the goods not released to the Plaintiff?
  3. What remedies are available to the Plaintiff?

Orders

  • Judgment entered in favour of the Plaintiff against the Defendants.
  • The Defendants shall release the remaining goods namely 181 bales of Fishnet and 1,624 cartons of Twines or pay their value as provided in Exhibit P2.
  • Interest on the value of unreleased goods at 18% per annum from 16 July 2013 until payment in full.
  • General damages awarded to the Plaintiff in the sum of UGX 20,000,000.
  • Interest on general damages at 6% per annum from date of judgment until payment in full.
  • Costs of the suit awarded to the Plaintiff.

Rules and key headnotes

Breach of Consent Decree — Burden of Proof — Evidential Presumptions
Where a plaintiff adduces evidence sufficient to raise a presumption that a consent decree has been breached, the burden shifts to the defendant to rebut that presumption; if the defendant fails to adduce evidence rebutting the presumption, it will be presumed that the breach occurred.
Interest — Basis for Award — Deprivation of Use of Money or Property
Interest may be awarded where a defendant has kept the plaintiff out of his money or property and has had use of it himself, so as to compensate the plaintiff for being deprived of the use of the money or proceeds of the property.
General Damages — Assessment — Factors — Breach of Contract
General damages for breach of contract are intended to put the plaintiff in the same or as near the same financial position as he would have been had the defendant carried out her side of the bargain. Assessment is guided by the value of the subject matter, the economic inconvenience suffered, and the nature and extent of the breach.
Exemplary Damages — Requirements — Oppressive, Arbitrary, or Unconstitutional Conduct
Exemplary damages may be awarded where there has been oppressive, arbitrary, or unconstitutional behaviour by the defendant, or where the defendant's conduct was calculated to make a profit exceeding the compensation payable to the plaintiff. In the absence of established intention to oppress or acts of impunity, exemplary damages will not be awarded.

Cases cited (5)

  • Harbutt's Plasticine Ltd v Wayne Tank & Pump Co Ltd [1970] QB 447
  • JK Peter v Spear Motors Ltd (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 4 of 1991)
  • Katakanya & Others v Raphael Bikongoro (High Court Civil Appeal No. 12 of 2010)
  • Southern Engineering Company v Mutia [1985] KLR 730
  • Rookes v Barnard [1964] ALLER 367

Full judgment

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

Kyotera Victoria Fishnets Ltd v Commisioner General URA & Anor (Civil Suit None of 2014) [2018] UGCommC 15 (15 May 2018)
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.