Wakilii

Superior Construction & Engineering Ltd v Notay Engineering Industries 1918 Ltd (Civil Suit No.702 89)

High Court · [1990] UGHC 4 · 1990 Judgment for Plaintiff AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
First instance civil suit for breach of sub-contract and unpaid balance
Decision
Judgment entered for plaintiff for balance of payment with interest and costs; defendant's counterclaim dismissed

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

Citator coverage is limited to judgments in the Wakilii corpus and source-matched treatment records. Absence of a signal is not an assertion that the case remains good law.

AI-generated summary. This summary was generated by AI from the full text of the judgment. It may contain errors or omissions—always read the source judgment before relying on it.

Holding

In a sub-contract dispute where the plaintiff completed civil engineering works at two coffee factories, the court awarded the balance of payment in US dollars converted to Uganda shillings at the official exchange rate. Interest at 40% was awarded from judgment date to reflect commercial lending rates where the defendant withheld payment without reason. The defendant's counterclaim for breach was dismissed after the defendant failed to appear at the ex parte hearing.

Outcome

Judgment entered for plaintiff for balance of payment with interest and costs; defendant's counterclaim dismissed

Facts

The plaintiff and defendant, both limited liability companies, entered into a verbal sub-contract in November 1988 whereby the defendant sub-contracted the plaintiff to perform civil engineering works at Kasawo and Lube Coffee Factories. Payment was agreed in US dollars upon completion, based on bills of quantities. The defendant paid an initial deposit of US $800 and made advance payments during the work. The plaintiff completed the works and submitted bills of quantities showing total value of US $63,028. After deducting advances totaling US $31,645, a balance of US $31,383 remained unpaid. The plaintiff submitted a statement of account and made demands for payment, which the defendant refused without providing reasons. The defendant counterclaimed US $97,077.03 for alleged breach but failed to appear at hearing.

Issues

  1. Whether the Plaintiff is entitled to the balance of payment for work done at Lube and Kasawo Factories

Orders

  • Judgment entered for the Plaintiff in the sum of Uganda Shillings 12,051,112/= being the equivalent of US $31,383 at the official exchange rate of 384/=.
  • Costs of the suit awarded to the Plaintiff.
  • Interest on the decretal amount at 40% per annum from the date of judgment.
  • Defendant's counterclaim dismissed.

Rules and key headnotes

Contract Law — Sub-contracts — Payment Terms — Completion as Condition Precedent
Where parties to a sub-contract agree that payment will be made upon completion of works based on bills of quantities, the contractor becomes entitled to payment once the contractual works are completed and properly documented through submitted bills.
Civil Procedure — Ex Parte Proceedings — Service of Hearing Notice — Proof of Service
Where hearing notice is duly served on a party's counsel and an affidavit of service is filed on record, the court may properly proceed ex parte in the absence of that party and their counsel at the hearing.
Contract Law — Breach of Contract — Burden of Proof — Counterclaim
A party who pleads breach of contract and counterclaims damages bears the burden of proving the alleged breach and resulting loss; failure to appear and adduce evidence results in dismissal of the counterclaim.
Commercial Law — Currency — Foreign Currency Obligations — Conversion to Local Currency
Where a contract provides for payment in foreign currency, judgment may be entered for the foreign currency amount or its equivalent in local currency at the official exchange rate prevailing at the time of judgment.
Damages & Quantum — Interest — Rate of Interest — Commercial Rates
Where a defendant has been guilty of gross delay in effecting payment and has withheld money without reason, it is proper for the rate of interest awarded to reflect the current commercial value of money rather than the standard court rate, particularly where the lending rate exceeds the court rate.
Damages & Quantum — Interest — Discretion of Court — Factors
An award of interest is a matter of the court's discretion and should be granted where the defendant was in some way responsible for delay in effecting payment, such as by refusing payment without providing any reason.

Full judgment

↓ Download PDF

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

Superior Construction & Engineering Ltd v Notay Engineering Industries 1918 Ltd (Civil Suit No.702_89) [1990] UGHC 4 (1 June 1990)
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.