Wakilii

Print and Stationery Suppliers v Kitgum District Administration (Civil Suit 926 of 1994)

High Court · [1996] UGHC 53 · 1996 Preliminary Objection Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Preliminary objection to plaint raised by defendant at first instance civil suit stage
Decision
Preliminary objection dismissed; matter to proceed to trial on merits.

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The court held that despite the fact that the Local Administration Act 1967 had been repealed before the suit was filed, the continued use of the former name 'Kitgum District Administration' by both parties in correspondence constituted a bona fide mistake. The court ruled that the proper defendant should have been the District Resistance Council, but that substitution or amendment was permissible under Order 6 r.18 of the Civil Procedure Rules to determine the real matter in dispute. The preliminary objection was overruled with costs to the plaintiff.

Outcome

Preliminary objection dismissed; matter to proceed to trial on merits.

Facts

The plaintiff filed a civil suit against Kitgum District Administration claiming special and general damages for breach of contract. The defendant raised a preliminary objection on two grounds: first, that the suit was misconceived because Kitgum District Administration had ceased to exist under the Local Government Resistance Councils Statute 1993 (Statute No. 15 of 1993), which came into force on 31 December 1993 and repealed the Local Administration Act 1967; second, that statutory notice required under Act 20 of 1969 had not been properly served. The plaint was filed on 21 December 1994, approximately one year after the statutory repeal. Evidence showed that both parties had continued to use the former name 'Kitgum District Administration' in correspondence even after the statutory change.

Issues

  1. Whether the suit was misconceived because it was brought against Kitgum District Administration, a non-existent legal entity following repeal of the Local Administration Act 1967 by the Local Government Resistance Councils Statute 1993.
  2. Whether statutory notice was properly served on the defendant as required under Act 20 of 1969.
  3. Whether the court could allow amendment to substitute the proper defendant name under Order 6 r.18 of the Civil Procedure Rules.

Orders

  • Preliminary objection overruled.
  • Costs awarded to the plaintiff.
  • Leave to appeal granted.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Amendment of Pleadings — Wrong Party Named — Substitution of Proper Defendant
Where a suit has been instituted against a wrong party through a bona fide mistake and it is necessary for the determination of the real matter in dispute, the court may at any stage order substitution or addition of the proper party under Order 6 r.18 of the Civil Procedure Rules.
Administrative Law — Local Government — Change of Legal Entity — Effect on Pending Litigation
Where a local authority's name and legal status have changed by statute but parties have continued to use the former name in correspondence, the filing of a suit in the former name constitutes a bona fide mistake amenable to amendment by substitution of the proper entity.
Civil Procedure — Preliminary Objections — Pleading Requirements
A defendant who intends to raise a preliminary objection based on a point of law must comply with Order 6 r.27 of the Civil Procedure Rules by stating in the written statement of defence that the plaint will be objected to as contradictory, vexatious, or untenable.

Legislation cited (8)

Cases cited (2)

  • Ssajjabi v Manufacture (1974) HCB 202
  • Kasule v Kasuja (1979) HCB 99

Full judgment

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

Print and Stationery Suppliers v Kitgum District Administration (Civil Suit 926 of 1994) [1996] UGHC 53 (23 February 1996)
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.