Wakilii

Obore v Onyait (Miscellaneous Cause 47 of 2023)

High Court · [2023] UGHCCD 261 · 2023 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for taxation of advocate-client bill of costs arising from representation in Civil Appeal No. 10 of 2020 and Miscellaneous Application No. 154 of 2022
Decision
Application dismissed with liberty to re-file in compliance with statutory requirements

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

An advocate seeking to tax a bill of costs against a client must comply with section 57 of the Advocates Act. The bill must be delivered to the client personally, by registered post, or left at their place of business or residence. No suit to recover costs may be brought until one month after delivery. The application was dismissed because there was no proof of proper service of the bill on the respondent and the application was filed only six days after the demand letter, not one month as required.

Outcome

Application dismissed with liberty to re-file in compliance with statutory requirements

Facts

The applicant advocate was instructed by the respondent on 16 November 2021 to represent him in Civil Appeal No. 10 of 2020 and Miscellaneous Application No. 154 of 2022. The applicant undertook legal work including drafting, filing, court attendance, and incurred costs for legal fees, photocopying and transport. The applicant requested payment of advocate costs but the respondent declined and eventually changed instructions to another law firm. On 22 March 2023, the applicant sent a letter to the respondent demanding payment with an itemised bill of costs attached. The applicant filed this application on 28 March 2023 seeking taxation of the advocate-client bill. The respondent did not file a reply despite being served. The applicant filed the bill of costs in court under Taxation Application No. 19 of 2023.

Issues

  1. Whether the applicant complied with the requirements of section 57 of the Advocates Act for bringing an application to tax advocate-client costs.
  2. Whether the applicant delivered the bill of costs to the respondent as required by section 57(2)(b) of the Advocates Act.
  3. Whether the applicant filed the application one month after delivery of the bill as required by section 57(1) of the Advocates Act.

Orders

  • Application dismissed.
  • No order as to costs.
  • Applicant may file another application in compliance with section 57 of the Advocates Act.

Rules and key headnotes

Advocate-Client Costs — Statutory Requirements for Recovery — Service of Bill
Under section 57(2)(b) of the Advocates Act, a bill of costs must be delivered to the party to be charged either personally, by registered post, or left at their place of business, dwelling house, or last known place of abode, and proof of such delivery must be established before an advocate can commence proceedings to recover costs.
Advocate-Client Costs — Timing of Application for Taxation
No suit or application to recover advocate costs may be brought until one month has expired from the delivery of the bill of costs, save in exceptional circumstances where the party chargeable is about to quit Uganda, become bankrupt, compound with creditors, or do any act to prevent or delay payment.
Advocate-Client Costs — Content and Form of Bill
An advocate's bill of costs for taxation must be itemised in accordance with Regulation 47 of the Advocates (Remuneration and Taxation of Costs) Regulations, prepared in five columns showing item numbers, dates of service, particulars of service under separate sub-headings (instruction fees, drawing documents, attendances, VAT, disbursements), professional fees claimed, and deductions by the taxing officer, with disbursements shown separately at the foot of the bill.

Legislation cited (9)

Cases cited (1)

Full judgment

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

Obore v Onyait (Miscellaneous Cause 47 of 2023) [2023] UGHCCD 261 (24 August 2023)
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.