Wakilii

Tadeo Mukonyezi v Signum Credit Uganda Limited [2023] UGCOMMC 320

High Court · 2023 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for unconditional leave to appear and defend a summary suit for recovery of money, arising from Civil Suit No. 728 of 2022
Decision
Application dismissed on preliminary objection for being filed out of time

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The court dismissed the application for leave to appear and defend on the ground that it was filed out of time. The applicant was served with summons on 8 September 2022, and the ten-day period expired on 19 September 2022. The present application was filed on 30 September 2022, well outside the statutory window. The court further held that the applicant could not file an amended application without leave of court, and that the new application filed with a different case number was not a proper amendment but a new matter filed out of time.

Outcome

Application dismissed on preliminary objection for being filed out of time

Facts

The respondent filed a summary suit on 19 August 2022 seeking recovery of UGX 115,000,000. Summons were issued on 30 August 2022 and served on the applicant on 8 September 2022. The applicant was required to apply for leave to appear and defend within ten days of service. The applicant states he filed a notice of motion on 19 September 2022, but this application was never admitted to the court record. On 30 September 2022, the applicant filed the present application seeking unconditional leave to appear and defend. The respondent raised a preliminary objection that the application was filed out of time and that the applicant had filed an amended application without leave of court.

Issues

  1. Whether the application for leave to appear and defend was filed within the prescribed ten-day period under Order 36 Rule 3(1) of the Civil Procedure Rules.
  2. Whether the applicant could file an amended application without leave of court under Order 6 Rule 19 of the Civil Procedure Rules.

Orders

  • Preliminary objection upheld.
  • Application for leave to appear and defend dismissed.

Rules and key headnotes

Summary Suits — Time Limits for Application for Leave to Defend
Under Order 36 Rule 3(1) of the Civil Procedure Rules, a defendant served with summons in a summary suit must apply for leave to defend within ten days from the date of service, and where the last day falls on a Sunday, the period is extended to the next working day under Section 34(1) of the Interpretation Act.
Amendment of Pleadings — Requirement for Leave of Court
An amended pleading replaces an earlier pleading and contains matters omitted from or not known at the time of the earlier pleading. A party cannot file a new application with a different case number and characterise it as an amendment without obtaining leave of court under Order 6 Rule 19 of the Civil Procedure Rules.

Legislation cited (5)

Full judgment

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

Tadeo Mukonyezi v Signum Credit Uganda Limited 2023 UGCommC 320 (5 January 2023)
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.