Wakilii

Trustees of Tayebi Club v Pathak (Civil Case No. 178 of 1950)

East African Court of Appeal · [1952] EACA 272 · 1952 Matter Remitted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Objection to taxing master's decision on instruction fees under rule 7 of the Rules of Court (Taxation)
Decision
Matter remitted to taxing officer for retaxation of instruction fees

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The Court held that where a taxing master gives reasons for his decision on instruction fees but fails to consider all matters required by the proviso—particularly the general conduct of proceedings and all other circumstances—the Court may remit the matter for retaxation. The taxing master erred by treating the appeal as if argued on the merits when it was disposed of in 15-30 minutes without substantive argument, and by failing to consider the fund of persons to bear the cost.

Outcome

Matter remitted to taxing officer for retaxation of instruction fees

Facts

The original plaintiffs (Trustees of Tayebi Club) appealed a Rent Tribunal decision dated 6 May 1950. The appeal was heard by de Lestang J, who could not decide the case due to the absence of any record of proceedings before the Rent Control Board. The appeal arguments took only 15-30 minutes. De Lestang J set aside the Board's order, remitted the matter for retrial, and directed costs to follow the result of the re-hearing. At re-hearing, the plaintiffs were successful. The taxing master subsequently allowed Sh. 600 as instruction fees for the appeal. The defendant objected to this taxation, arguing the fee was excessive given the appeal was not argued on the merits and was disposed of quickly.

Issues

  1. Whether the taxing master properly exercised his discretion in allowing Sh. 600 as instruction fees for an appeal that was not argued on the merits.
  2. Whether the taxing master took into consideration all matters required by the proviso when fixing the instruction fee.

Orders

  • Instruction fee item remitted to the taxing officer for retaxation.
  • Taxing officer directed to give careful attention to the general conduct of proceedings, all other circumstances, and the fund of persons to bear the cost.

Rules and key headnotes

Costs — Taxation — Taxing Officer's Discretion — Review by Court
The Court will not interfere with a taxing master's decision on instruction fees unless the taxing master is shown to have gone wholly wrong. Where a question of principle is involved, the Court may intervene; on a mere question of quantum, in the absence of particular circumstances, the taxing master's decision is conclusive.
Costs — Taxation — Taxing Officer's Duty to Consider Prescribed Matters
Where a taxing master gives reasons for his decision and it is clear from that reasoning that he has not regarded all or any of the parts of the proviso laying down matters which he shall take into consideration when allowing a fee, the Court may remit the item for retaxation.
Costs — Taxation — Instruction Fees — Matters to be Considered
When fixing instruction fees, a taxing master must have regard to the general conduct and all other circumstances of the proceedings, including whether the appeal was argued on the merits, the number of points argued, the length of arguments, and the fund of persons to bear the cost.

Legislation cited (2)

  • Rules of Court (Taxation) rule 7
  • Subsidiary Legislation Vol. 5 page 465

Cases cited (1)

  • White v Altrincham Urban District Council [1936] 1 All ER 923

Full judgment

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Trustees of Tayebi Club v Pathak (Civil Case No. 178 of 1950) [1952] EACA 272 (1 January 1952)
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.