Wakilii

Steam Investments Limited v Riseshine Investments (U) Ltd (Miscellaneous Application No. 686 of 2026)

High Court · [2026] UGCOMMC 364 · 2026 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for extension of time to file written statement of defence out of time, arising from Civil Suit No. 07 of 2025
Decision
Application granted; leave to file written statement of defence out of time extended and defence filed on 29th March 2026 validated

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

Held that the applicant demonstrated sufficient cause to warrant extension of time to file its written statement of defence. Although counsel failed to check ECCMIS on the rescheduled ruling date and were negligent, the litigant's interests should not be defeated by counsel's mistakes. Application granted; written statement of defence filed out of time validated. Costs in the cause.

Outcome

Application granted; leave to file written statement of defence out of time extended and defence filed on 29th March 2026 validated

Facts

The applicant sought leave to extend time to file a written statement of defence and validate the defence filed out of time. Court had scheduled ruling delivery for 5th February 2026 but rescheduled to 13th February 2026 via ECCMIS ruling notice. Applicant's counsel failed to check ECCMIS on 5th February and only discovered the ruling on 26th March 2026, after the 15-day filing deadline had expired. The applicant was not linked to ECCMIS and relied on counsel to monitor the case. Counsel filed the defence on 29th March 2026, out of time. Respondent opposed, contending ECCMIS notifications and emails were sent on 5th February 2026 and counsel had a duty to follow up diligently.

Issues

  1. Whether the Applicant should be granted leave to file its written statement of defence in Civil Suit No. 07 of 2025 out of time?
  2. What remedies are available to the parties?

Orders

  • Leave is hereby granted extending the time within which to file the Applicant's written statement of defence in Civil Suit No. 07 of 2025.
  • The Applicant's written statement of defence filed on 29th March, 2026 is hereby validated.
  • Costs of this application shall be in the cause.

Rules and key headnotes

Extension of Time — Power of Court — Sufficient Cause
Under Section 96 of the Civil Procedure Act and Order 51 rule 6 of the Civil Procedure Rules, the court has discretion to enlarge time for doing any prescribed act even after expiry of the time originally fixed, provided sufficient cause is shown relating to the inability or failure to take the necessary step within the prescribed time.
Extension of Time — Counsel Negligence — Protection of Litigant's Interests
A litigant's interests should not be defeated by the mistakes and lapses of counsel. Where counsel's negligence in monitoring court proceedings causes delay, the court may still grant extension of time in the interest of justice to protect the litigant's substantive rights.

Legislation cited (6)

Cases cited (5)

Full judgment

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

Steam Investments Limited v Riseshine Investments (U) Ltd (Miscellaneous Application No. 686 of 2026) [2026] UGCommC 364 (30 July 2026)
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.