Wakilii

Minawa Inn Ltd v D.A.P.C.B Anor (Civil Suit No. 97 of 1993)

High Court · [1994] UGHC 29 · 1994 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Chamber application by 2nd Defendant for security for costs following dismissal of main suit and plaintiff's application to set aside that dismissal order
Decision
Application dismissed; plaintiff may proceed with its application to set aside the dismissal order without depositing security

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The High Court dismissed an application for security for costs brought against a plaintiff company. The court held that security for costs is not ordered on the ground of poverty. Where a plaintiff is registered and carries on business within the jurisdiction, lack of assets does not justify ordering security for costs. The test is whether the plaintiff resides outside the jurisdiction without sufficient property within it to meet possible claims.

Outcome

Application dismissed; plaintiff may proceed with its application to set aside the dismissal order without depositing security

Facts

Minawa Inn Ltd, a company registered in Uganda, purchased property from D.A.P.C.B. in 1977. The former owner later reclaimed and repossessed the property. The plaintiff sued D.A.P.C.B. and the former owner (Treon Ltd as 2nd defendant). The suit was dismissed when the plaintiff's counsel failed to appear at a hearing. The plaintiff applied to set aside the dismissal. The 2nd defendant then applied for an order requiring the plaintiff to deposit UGX 10 million as security for costs before the set-aside application could be heard, arguing that the plaintiff company had no assets and only derived income from the suit property, and therefore might not be able to meet the 2nd defendant's costs if the suit was decided against it.

Issues

  1. Whether the plaintiff company should be ordered to deposit security for costs before its application to set aside the dismissal order could be heard.
  2. Whether poverty of a plaintiff company is a ground for ordering security for costs.

Orders

  • Application for security for costs dismissed.
  • Costs of the application awarded to the plaintiff/respondent.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Security for Costs — Jurisdiction to Order
A court will order security for costs where the plaintiff resides abroad and has no sufficient property within the jurisdiction to meet possible claims of other litigants which would be available for execution.
Civil Procedure — Security for Costs — Plaintiff Within Jurisdiction
Where a plaintiff company is registered and carries on business within the jurisdiction of the court, there is no prima facie case for requiring the plaintiff to give security for costs, even if the company lacks assets.
Civil Procedure — Security for Costs — Poverty Not a Ground
Security for costs is not ordered on the ground of poverty. To order security for costs on ground of poverty would be wrong in principle as that amounts to turning the court into the arena of only the rich.

Legislation cited (1)

  • Civil Procedure Rules O.23 rr.1 and 3

Cases cited (3)

  • Farrab Inc v Robson (1957) EA 441
  • Mohamed v Madani (1953) 30 EACA 8
  • Noor Mohamed Abdulla v Patel (1962) EA 441

Full judgment

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

Minawa Inn Ltd v D.A.P.C.B Anor (Civil Suit No. 97 of 1993) [1994] UGHC 29 (7 September 1994)
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.