Wakilii

Magembe v Uganda Electricity Board (Civil Suit No. 613 of 1990)

High Court · [1992] UGHC 21 · 1992 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application by defendant corporation for enlargement of time to file written statement of defence
Decision
Application granted with time extended to file defence

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

Citator coverage is limited to judgments in the Wakilii corpus and source-matched treatment records. Absence of a signal is not an assertion that the case remains good law.

AI-generated summary. This summary was generated by AI from the full text of the judgment. It may contain errors or omissions—always read the source judgment before relying on it.

Holding

Held that courts have discretion under Order 47 Rule 6 CPR to enlarge time for filing pleadings without requiring proof of sufficient cause. A liberal approach should apply where the defaulting defendant is a corporate body with multifarious duties performed through officers. Application granted enlarging time to file defence within thirty days.

Outcome

Application granted with time extended to file defence

Facts

The defendant corporation entered appearance in Civil Suit 613 of 1990 in July 1990 through its Legal Manager. The Legal Manager soon left for a short course abroad after instructing a junior officer to refer the matter to the corporation's counsel M/S Hunter and Greig for action. The junior officer failed to carry out the instruction, resulting in the failure to file the written statement of defence within the stipulated period. The defendant corporation applied by notice of motion under Order 47 Rule 6 CPR for enlargement of time to file its defence, grounding the application on the administrative failure and asserting it had a good defence. The plaintiff and plaintiff's counsel did not appear at the hearing despite being served with notice.

Issues

  1. Whether the defendant corporation should be granted enlargement of time to file its written statement of defence.
  2. Whether sufficient cause exists to justify the extension of time.

Orders

  • Application allowed.
  • Time enlarged for the applicant to file written statement of defence within 30 days from the date of this ruling.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Enlargement of Time — Distinction Between Order 47 Rule 6 and Order 9 Rule 24 CPR
Order 47 Rule 6 CPR gives the court wider power to enlarge time fixed for filing pleadings than Order 9 Rule 24 CPR. Order 47 Rule 6 does not require proof of sufficient cause, unlike Order 9 Rule 24.
Civil Procedure — Enlargement of Time — Liberal Approach to Corporate Defendants
A distinction should be drawn between a corporate defendant and an individual defendant when considering applications for enlargement of time. A liberal approach should be taken where the defaulting defendant is a secretary or officer of a corporate body with multifarious duties to perform.
Civil Procedure — Enlargement of Time — Requirement to Disclose Proposed Defence
Where an applicant relies on the ground that it has a good defence to the plaintiff's claim in seeking enlargement of time, the applicant should produce the proposed defence or incorporate it in the notice of motion to enable the court to assess whether the defendant has a good defence. It is not sufficient merely to allege existence of a good defence.

Legislation cited (2)

Cases cited (2)

  • Kampala City Council v Apollo Hotel Corporation (1985) HCB 77
  • Sebei District Administration v Casyali and Others (1968) SA 300

Full judgment

↓ Download PDF

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

Magembe v Uganda Electricity Board (Civil Suit No. 613 of 1990) [1992] UGHC 21 (5 February 1992)
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.