Wakilii

Pentacostal Assemblies of God Lira v Pentacostal Assemblies Of God Ltd & Anor (MISCELLANEOUS APPLICATION NO. 014 OF 2018)

High Court · [2019] UGHCCD 117 · 2019 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application to set aside ex parte orders in consolidated civil suits arising from applicant's non-appearance at a scheduled hearing
Decision
Application dismissed; applicant to pursue any remedy through appeal after final determination of the main suit

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

Application to set aside ex parte orders dismissed. Where a party and its counsel were present in court when a hearing date was fixed and the party failed to attend due to inquiring about the hearing time from someone who was not present in court rather than from their own counsel, no sufficient cause for non-attendance is demonstrated. A party cannot be exonerated from wrong decisions taken by its counsel. Additionally, a two-week delay in filing the application without explanation is inordinate. Once court proceeds under Order 17 rule 4 of the Civil Procedure Rules, the only remedy is appeal after final determination.

Outcome

Application dismissed; applicant to pursue any remedy through appeal after final determination of the main suit

Facts

The applicant was involved in consolidated civil suits. On 14 February 2019, the applicant, its counsel, and representatives attended court where the matter was adjourned to 15 March 2019 at 10:30am-4:00pm for cross-examination of the respondents' witness. On 13 March 2019, the applicant's witnesses travelled from Lira to their lawyers' chambers. A legal assistant from the law firm informed them the hearing was at 3:00pm, though the assistant admits he was told by counsel with personal conduct it was at 10:00am but made an honest mistake in relaying the time. The applicant and witnesses arrived at 3:00pm on 15 March 2019 and found the matter had already proceeded ex parte in the morning and a judgment date had been set. The applicant filed this application on 2 April 2019 to set aside the ex parte order, claiming it was misinformed by its advocate. The respondents opposed, arguing the applicant and its representatives were present in court on 14 February when the date and time were announced.

Issues

  1. Whether the court should set aside its order allowing the respondents to proceed ex parte in the consolidated civil suits.
  2. Whether the applicant demonstrated sufficient cause for its failure to attend the hearing on 15 March 2019.
  3. Whether the delay of over two weeks in filing the application was adequately explained.

Orders

  • Application dismissed.
  • Costs awarded to the respondents.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Ex Parte Proceedings — Order 17 Rule 4 — Setting Aside
Where court proceeds under Order 17 rule 4 of the Civil Procedure Rules due to a party's failure to produce evidence or cause attendance of witnesses, such order cannot be set aside; the only remedy available to the aggrieved party is an appeal after final determination of the suit.
Civil Procedure — Sufficient Cause — Non-Appearance at Hearing — Misinformation by Counsel
A party cannot demonstrate sufficient cause for non-appearance at a hearing where the party and its counsel were present in court when the hearing date and time were announced, but the party subsequently relied on misinformation from a legal assistant who was not present in court rather than consulting the counsel who attended the hearing.
Civil Procedure — Mistake of Counsel — Client Responsibility — Exoneration
It would be absurd that every time an advocate takes a wrong step or applies a wrong strategy thereby losing a case, the client would seek to be exonerated. A party bears responsibility for wrong decisions or strategies adopted by its counsel, and cannot use counsel's mistake as sufficient cause to set aside orders.
Civil Procedure — Applications to Set Aside Orders — Delay — Explanation Required
Where an applicant seeks to set aside an order on grounds of non-attendance, any delay in filing the application must be explained by demonstrating sufficient cause or explaining the reason for failure to file immediately. A delay of over two weeks without explanation is inordinate.

Legislation cited (7)

Cases cited (3)

  • Tight Security Ltd v Chartis Uganda Insurance Co Ltd (HCMA No. 8 of 2014)
  • Hadondi Daniel v Yolam Egondi (Court of Appeal Civil Appeal No. 67 of 2003)
  • Capt Phillip Ongom v Catherine Nyero Owota (Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 14 of 2001)

Full judgment

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

Pentacostal Assemblies of God Lira Vs Pentacostal Assemblies Of God Ltd & Anor (MISCELLANEOUS APPLICATION NO. 014 OF 2018) [2019] UGHCCD 117 (14 June 2019)
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.