Wakilii

Sun Air Ltd v Nanam Transpet Co Ltd (Civil Suit No. 229 of 2009)

High Court · [2012] UGCOMMC 17 · 2012 Plaint Rejected AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Preliminary objection to plaint in a first instance civil suit for recovery of contract value
Decision
Plaint rejected for failure to disclose a cause of action

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The High Court rejected the plaint under O.7 r.11(a) of the Civil Procedure Rules. The plaint failed to disclose a cause of action because it did not allege all necessary facts: no particulars were given of the alleged misrepresentation by the defendants in claiming to be the plaintiff's agents, no details were provided on how the defendants received the money or from whom, and the plaint did not explain why the letters of credit referenced in the export invoices were not honoured. Failure to plead particulars of misrepresentation as required by the mandatory rule O.6 r.3 was fatal.

Outcome

Plaint rejected for failure to disclose a cause of action

Facts

Sun Air Ltd contracted Nanam Transpet Co Ltd to transport 40 tonnes of maize from Kampala to Torit, Southern Sudan, for delivery to Bilpam Pharmaceutical Ltd. The maize was to be supplied to the Government of Southern Sudan under letters of credit issued by Kenya Commercial Bank. Sun Air claimed the defendants received USD 300,000 from the beneficiary by misrepresenting themselves as Sun Air's agents, and failed to remit the payment to Sun Air. The defendants denied receiving the money or acting as agents. The plaint attached ten export invoices, all referencing a letter of credit, and a transportation contract that specified only delivery obligations and payment by Sun Air to the defendants for transportation services. No particulars were given on how the defendants received the USD 300,000, from whom, or why the letters of credit were not honoured.

Issues

  1. Whether the plaint discloses a cause of action against the defendant.
  2. Whether the plaint complies with the mandatory requirements of O.7 r.1(e) and (f) of the Civil Procedure Rules.
  3. Whether the plaint properly pleaded particulars of misrepresentation as required by O.6 r.3 of the Civil Procedure Rules.
  4. Whether the plaint properly pleaded facts showing the court has jurisdiction to try the suit.

Orders

  • Plaint rejected under Order 7 rule 11(a) of the Civil Procedure Rules.
  • Costs awarded to the defendants.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Pleadings — Cause of Action — Necessary Facts
A plaint must allege all facts necessary to establish the cause of action. The cause of action is a bundle of facts which, taken with the law applicable to them, gives the plaintiff a right to relief against the defendant. It includes every fact which, if traversed, it would be necessary for the plaintiff to prove in order to support his right to a judgment of the court. The omission of one material fact makes a claim bad.
Civil Procedure — Pleadings — Rejection of Plaint — Order 7 Rule 11(a)
Where a plaint does not allege all the necessary facts to constitute a cause of action, it shall be rejected under Order 7 rule 11(a) of the Civil Procedure Rules. The question of whether a plaint discloses a cause of action is determined upon perusal of the plaint and any attachments thereto, with the assumption that the facts pleaded or implied therein are true.
Civil Procedure — Pleadings — Misrepresentation — Particulars Required
Under Order 6 rule 3 of the Civil Procedure Rules, in all cases in which the party pleading relies on any misrepresentation, fraud, breach of trust, wilful default or undue influence, the particulars with dates shall be stated in the pleadings. This requirement is mandatory. Failure to plead and particularise misrepresentation is a fundamental defect and is fatal to the claim.
Banking & Finance — Letters of Credit — Effect and Operation
When a letter of credit is issued and confirmed by a bank, the bank must pay it if the documents are in order and the terms of the credit are satisfied. Any dispute between buyer and seller must be settled between themselves. The bank must honour the credit. The opening of a confirmed letter of credit constitutes a bargain between the banker and the vendor of the goods, which imposes on the banker an absolute obligation to pay, irrespective of any dispute between the parties on whether the goods are up to contract or not.
Civil Procedure — Pleadings — Evidence Distinguished from Facts
A cause of action does not comprise evidence necessary to prove the facts but every fact necessary for the plaintiff to prove to enable him to obtain a decree. What is not pleaded cannot be proved. Submissions from the bar are inadmissible as statements of fact.

Legislation cited (6)

  • Civil Procedure Rules O.7 r.1(e)
  • Civil Procedure Rules O.7 r.1(f)
  • Civil Procedure Rules O.7 r.11(a)
  • Civil Procedure Rules O.6 r.30
  • Civil Procedure Rules O.6 r.3
  • Registration of Titles Act s.184(c)

Cases cited (13)

  • Auto Garage v Motokov [1971] EA 514
  • Assanand and Sons (Uganda) Ltd v East African Records Ltd (1959) EA 360
  • Ismail Serugo v Kampala City Council and the Attorney General (Constitutional Appeal No. 2 of 1998)
  • Attorney General v Oluoch (1972) EA 392
  • Power Curber International Ltd v National Bank of Kuwait SAK [1981] 3 All ER 607
  • Edward Owen Ltd v Barclays Bank International Ltd [1978] 1 All ER 976
  • Malas and Another (Trading As Hamzeh Malas and Sons) v British Imex Industries Ltd [1958] 1 All ER 262
  • Kampala Bottlers Ltd v Damanico (U) Ltd (Civil Appeal No. 22 of 1992)
  • Lubega v Barclays Bank [1990-1994] EA 294
  • Okello v Uganda National Examinations Board (CA No. 12 of 1987) [1993] II KALR 133
  • Attorney General v Major General David Sejusa (Constitutional Appeal No. 1 of 1997)
  • Katarahwire v Lwanga [1988-1990] HCB 86
  • Sullivan v Ali Mohammed (1959) EA 239

Full judgment

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

Sun Air Ltd v Nanam Transpet Co Ltd (Civil Suit No. 229 of 2009) [2012] UGCommC 17 (11 March 2012)
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.