Wakilii

Nanvubya & 4 Others v Kanyerezi & Another (Miscellaneous Application 921 of 2024)

High Court · [2024] UGHCLD 189 · 2024 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application to strike out written statement of defence for being filed out of time, arising from Civil Suit No. 1369 of 2023
Decision
Application dismissed; respondents' written statement of defence validated despite late filing

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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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 dismissed an application to strike out a written statement of defence filed 50 days late, exercising inherent powers to validate the defence in the interests of justice. The court found that confusion over service of process on the wrong law firm, despite the respondents advising their correct lawyers' address, warranted validation of the late filing.

Outcome

Application dismissed; respondents' written statement of defence validated despite late filing

Facts

The applicants filed Civil Suit No. 1369 of 2023 on 21 November 2023 alleging breach of a land sharing agreement. Summons were issued on 28 November 2023 and served on the respondents on 4 December 2023. The 15-day period to file a defence expired on 19 December 2023. The respondents filed their written statement of defence on 8 February 2024, 50 days late. The respondents claimed that the applicant's process server had served the wrong law firm (M/s Eric-Kiingi & Co. Advocates) despite being advised to serve M/s Barnabas D.K Dyadi & Co. Advocates, their actual lawyers located next door. The respondents' lawyers only learned of the suit in February 2024 when the respondents obtained a copy of the plaint from criminal proceedings at Entebbe Magistrate's Court and immediately filed the defence. The applicants sought to strike out the defence for being filed out of time without any prior application for extension of time.

Issues

  1. Whether the written statement of defence in Civil Suit No. 1369 of 2023 should be struck off record for being filed out of time?
  2. What remedies are available to the parties?

Orders

  • The written statement of defence filed out of time by M/s Barnabas D.K Dyadi & Co. Advocates is validated.
  • The application is dismissed.
  • No order as to costs.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Defence — Time for Filing — Validation of Late Filing
The High Court has inherent powers to validate a written statement of defence filed out of time in the interests of justice and for purposes of administering substantive justice, even where no prior application for extension of time has been made.
Civil Procedure — Service of Process — Confusion over Lawyers' Address
Where a process server serves pleadings on the wrong law firm despite being advised of the correct firm by the defendant, and the correct firm only learns of the suit later and immediately files a defence, this circumstance may justify validation of a late defence in the exercise of the court's inherent powers.

Legislation cited (5)

Cases cited (1)

  • Hadondi Daniel v Yolam Egondi (Court of Appeal Civil Appeal No. 67 of 2003)

Full judgment

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

Nanvubya_&_4_Others_v_Kanyerezi_&_Another_(Miscellaneous_Application_921_of_2024)_[2024]_UGHCLD_189_(18_July_2024)
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.