Wakilii

Shoprite Checkers (U) Limited v Nyende (Labour Dispute Miscellaneous Application No. 139 of 2021)

Industrial Court · [2021] UGIC 55 · 2021 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application to strike out labour dispute claim for non-compliance with representative suit requirements
Decision
Application dismissed; main labour dispute to proceed with amendment to include all individual claimants

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The Industrial Court dismissed an application to strike out a labour dispute claim for alleged non-compliance with representative suit requirements. The court held that Order 1 rule 8 does not compel numerous persons to file a representative action but merely gives them an option to do so. Where the respondents denied filing as a representative suit and each individual's claim was properly captured with supporting documents, the pleading stating that one claimant was instructed to file on behalf of others was not fatal and could be cured by amendment.

Outcome

Application dismissed; main labour dispute to proceed with amendment to include all individual claimants

Facts

Shoprite Checkers (U) Limited applied to strike out Labour Dispute Reference No. 179/2021 filed by Rashid Nyende and 44 others, arguing it was an incompetent representative action filed without leave of court or public advertisement as required by Order 1 rule 8 of the Civil Procedure Rules. The applicant relied on paragraph 7 of the memorandum of claim which stated that Rashid Nyende was instructed to institute the case on behalf of the members, and a consent document attached. The respondents denied filing as a representative suit, stating that every individual's claim was properly captured with each individual's documents. The respondents filed their submissions late, three days before the scheduled court sitting, contrary to the court's timeline.

Issues

  1. Whether Labour Dispute Reference No. 179/2021 was filed as a representative action.
  2. Whether the respondents complied with Order 1 rule 8 of the Civil Procedure Rules regarding representative suits.

Orders

  • Application dismissed.
  • Labour Dispute Reference No. 179/2021 to be amended to include the 44 individual claimants.
  • No order as to costs.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Representative Suits — Order 1 Rule 8 — Optional Nature
Order 1 rule 8 of the Civil Procedure Rules does not compel numerous persons having the same interest to file a representative action but merely gives them an option to choose one or more persons to represent them in a suit; each of the numerous persons is not prevented from suing individually in the same suit.
Civil Procedure — Representative Suits — Defective Pleadings — Amendment
Where numerous claimants deny filing a representative action and each individual's claim is properly captured with supporting documents, a pleading stating that one claimant was instructed to file on behalf of others is not fatal to the claim and can be cured by amendment to include all individual claimants.

Legislation cited (3)

Cases cited (3)

  • Kasozi Joseph & 3 Others v Umeme Ltd (High Court Civil Suit No. 188 of 2010)
  • Ibrahim Buwembo & 2 Others v Utoda Limited (High Court Civil Suit No. 664 of 2003)
  • Uganda Freight Forwarders Association and Another v Attorney General and Another (Constitutional Petition No. 22 of 2009)

Full judgment

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

Shoprite_Checkers_(U)_Limited_v_Nyende_(Labour_Dispute_Miscellaneous_Application_No._139_of_2021)_[2021]_UGIC_55_(19_November_2021)
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.