Wakilii

Okway v Oddia & Anor (MISCELLANEOUS CIVIL APPLICATION No. 0039 OF 2016)

High Court · [2016] UGHCCD 118 · 2016 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Ex-parte application arising from pending civil suit for substitution of deceased defendant with legal representative
Decision
Applicant granted letters of administration ad litem and substituted as defendant in place of deceased; leave granted to amend pleadings

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

Held that where a defendant dies during the pendency of a suit and the cause of action survives, the court may grant letters of administration ad litem under Succession Act section 222 to enable a beneficiary of the deceased's estate to be substituted as defendant. The applicant, a beneficiary, was granted letters of administration limited to defending the pending suit and substituted as 5th defendant. Leave was granted to amend the written statement of defence accordingly.

Outcome

Applicant granted letters of administration ad litem and substituted as defendant in place of deceased; leave granted to amend pleadings

Facts

Anna Ayeyotho was the 5th defendant in Arua High Court Civil Suit No. 0031 of 2013, a suit relating to real property. She died on 29th March 2015 at Arua Regional Referral Hospital before the suit was disposed of. The applicant, Okway John Kimbo, is a beneficiary of her estate. A family meeting was convened at which the applicant and two others were selected to obtain letters of administration of the deceased's estate, a process they had commenced. The applicant sought to be appointed as legal representative of the deceased limited to her interests in the pending suit. The cause of action survived the death of Anna Ayeyotho. The process for issuance of full letters of administration had begun but was unlikely to be concluded by the next hearing date.

Issues

  1. Whether the applicant should be substituted as defendant in place of the deceased 5th defendant Anna Ayeyotho who died during the pendency of the suit.
  2. Whether letters of administration ad litem limited to defending the pending suit should be granted to the applicant.
  3. Whether leave should be granted to amend the written statement of defence consequent upon the substitution.

Orders

  • Letters of administration ad litem of the estate of Anna Ayeyotho granted to the applicant Okway John Kimbo, limited to the purposes of defending Arua High Court Civil Suit No. 0031 of 2013.
  • The name of Anna Ayeyotho as 5th defendant substituted with that of her legal representative Mr. Okway John Kimbo.
  • Leave granted to the applicant to make necessary amendments to the written statement of defence to reflect the true character in which the legal representative will defend the suit.
  • Amendments to be made within fourteen days from the date of this order.
  • Application allowed.
  • No order as to costs.

Rules and key headnotes

Succession & Estates — Letters of Administration Ad Litem — Grant Under Section 222 of Succession Act — Application Where Suit Pending
Section 222 of the Succession Act permits the grant of letters of administration limited to a pending suit when it is necessary that the representative of a deceased person be made a party to the suit and the executor or person entitled to administration is unable or unwilling to act. Such letters may be granted to the nominee of a party in the suit for the purpose of representing the deceased in that suit until final decree and execution.
Succession & Estates — Letters of Administration Ad Litem — Circumstances for Grant — Urgency and Special Circumstances
A grant of letters of administration ad litem is made where owing to special circumstances and urgency so great that it would not be possible for the court to make a full grant in sufficient time to meet the necessities of the estate, limited powers are conferred on the grantee solely for filing or defending a suit, without powers to distribute the estate.
Succession & Estates — Letters of Administration Ad Litem — Grant Without Prior Advertisement — Exception to General Rule
Letters of administration ad litem may be issued without prior advertisement, unlike other grants which must be advertised with notice inviting objections for not less than fourteen days before the grant can be made.
Civil Procedure — Abatement — Death of Defendant — Effect Where Cause of Action Survives
Under Order 24 rule 1 of the Civil Procedure Rules, death of a defendant does not cause the suit to abate if the cause of action survives or continues. Where a defendant in a suit relating to real property dies, the court may under Order 24 rule 4(1) cause the legal representative of the deceased defendant to be made a party and proceed with the suit.
Civil Procedure — Amendment of Pleadings — Consequential Amendments Following Substitution of Party
Where a legal representative is substituted for a deceased defendant under Order 24 rule 4(1), leave may be granted under Order 6 rule 19 of the Civil Procedure Rules to make consequential amendments to the written statement of defence to reflect the true character in which the legal representative will defend the suit.

Legislation cited (6)

Cases cited (2)

  • Hadija v Iddi [1974] EA 50
  • Gibbs v. Roy 85 CLJ 280

Full judgment

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

Okway v Oddia & Anor (MISCELLANEOUS CIVIL APPLICATION No. 0039 OF 2016) [2016] UGHCCD 118 (1 December 2016)
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.