Wakilii

Mulindwa T a Mulindwa Associates and Co. Advocates v Baliruno (Miscellaneous Application 4 of 2020)

High Court · [2022] UGCOMMC 170 · 2022 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for leave to file and tax an advocate-client bill of costs
Decision
Application allowed — leave granted to file advocate-client bill of costs and matter referred to taxation

Observed later treatment

Cited — treatment unverified cited in 1 (treatment unverified) Sequitur — Uganda’s citator · Derived from citing cases in the Wakilii corpus — not an assertion that this case is good law.

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.

No adverse treatment recorded Cited 1 time with no adverse treatment recorded; not yet tested on the merits. Derived from citing cases in the Wakilii corpus — a deterministic signal, not legal advice.

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

The High Court granted leave to an advocate to file and tax an advocate-client bill of costs against a former client. Where no agreement exists on payment terms for legal services rendered, the law gives a taxing officer jurisdiction to examine the work carried out by the advocate to determine recoverable costs. An advocate is entitled to remuneration for professional services rendered regardless of whether the client disputes payment, provided the bill of costs was properly served.

Outcome

Application allowed — leave granted to file advocate-client bill of costs and matter referred to taxation

Facts

On 14 July 2016, the respondent client instructed the applicant advocate to redeem property comprised in Block 447 Plot 251. The applicant filed Miscellaneous Application No. 586 of 2016 to add the respondent as a party and Originating Summons No. 005 of 2016. Following dismissal of the application, the applicant filed Miscellaneous Application No. 262 of 2018 seeking leave to appeal and No. 295 of 2018 for stay of execution. The applicant subsequently served a bill of costs on the respondent, who refused to acknowledge service. The respondent claimed to have paid UGX 25,000,000 in instruction fees and disbursements, but produced no receipts or evidence. The applicant denied receiving any payment and sought leave to file and tax an advocate-client bill of costs. No written agreement existed as to payment terms for the legal services rendered.

Issues

  1. Whether the Applicant has raised sufficient grounds for leave to file an Advocate client bill of costs to be granted?
  2. What remedies are available?

Orders

  • Leave is granted to the Applicant to file an Advocate/Client bill of costs.
  • The Advocate/Client bill of costs be taxed.
  • The Applicant is granted costs of this application.

Rules and key headnotes

Advocate-Client Costs — Requirements for Recovery — Service of Bill of Costs
Section 57 of the Advocates Act Cap 267 requires that before an advocate may sue to recover costs from a client, a bill of costs must be delivered to the client personally, by registered post, or left at the client's place of business, dwelling house, or last known place of abode, and one month must elapse after delivery before suit may be brought, unless the court orders otherwise on grounds that the client is about to quit Uganda, become bankrupt, or do any other act that would prevent or delay payment.
Advocate-Client Costs — Nature and Definition
An advocate-client bill of costs comprises costs an advocate claims from the advocate's own client for professional services rendered and disbursements made on behalf of the client. These costs are payable by the client whatever the outcome of the matter for which the advocate's services were engaged and are not dependent upon any award of costs by the court. Such costs can arise in either contentious or non-contentious matters.
Advocate-Client Costs — Taxation Where No Fee Agreement — Taxing Officer's Jurisdiction
Where no agreement exists as to the terms of payment for legal services rendered by an advocate to a client, the law gives a taxing officer jurisdiction to examine the nature and extent of the work carried out by the advocate in order to determine whether the costs incurred are recoverable from the client.
Advocate-Client Costs — Entitlement to Remuneration
An advocate is entitled to remuneration for professional services rendered to a client, and leave to file and tax an advocate-client bill of costs will be granted where the advocate establishes that services were rendered, no agreement on payment existed, and the bill of costs was properly served on the client.

Legislation cited (5)

Cases cited (4)

Cases citing this judgment (1)

How later Ugandan judgments in the Wakilii corpus have cited this case. Treatment labels come from Sequitur — Uganda’s citator — each backed by a verbatim span from the citing judgment, and are not an assertion that this case is, or is not, good law.

Full judgment

↓ Download PDF

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

Mulindwa T a Mulindwa Associates and Co. Advocates v Baliruno (Miscellaneous Application 4 of 2020) [2022] UGCommC 170 (7 December 2022)
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.