Wakilii

Twasse v Froli Investments (U) Ltd (Miscellaneous Application No. 925 of 2016)

High Court · [2017] UGCOMMC 56 · 2017 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application to set aside exparte judgment and for extension of time to file written statement of defence
Decision
Exparte judgment set aside; applicant permitted to file defence within 10 days

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

Court set aside Registrar's judgment and decree where conflicting affidavits by process server created doubt about effective service. The affidavit of service claimed acknowledgment while the application for substituted service claimed refusal, pointing to untruthfulness. No attempts shown to personally serve applicant who resided in Dubai, and no evidence substituted service method had wide circulation where applicant was located.

Outcome

Exparte judgment set aside; applicant permitted to file defence within 10 days

Facts

The applicant, who worked and resided in Dubai, learned of a suit against him through a friend in Uganda who saw a newspaper advertisement. His advocate discovered that the respondent had obtained an order for substituted service which was effected on 31 August 2016. The applicant contacted his advocate on 19 September 2016 after learning of the proceedings on 17 September 2016. The respondent had filed suit seeking recovery of money. An earlier affidavit of service claimed personal service was acknowledged at the defendant's office in November 2015, but a subsequent application for substituted service claimed the defendants refused service. The plaint showed the plaintiff knew the defendants also had an office in Dubai.

Issues

  1. Whether there was sufficient ground for not filing the defence in time.
  2. Whether service was effectively effected upon the applicant.

Orders

  • Judgment and decree of the Registrar set aside.
  • Applicant given 10 days within which to file a defence.
  • Costs to abide the results of the main suit.

Rules and key headnotes

Civil Procedure — Service of Process — Setting Aside Exparte Judgment — Requirements
Under Order 9 rule 27 of the Civil Procedure Rules, a court sets aside an exparte judgment only when satisfied that the applicant had sufficient ground for not filing defence in time or that service was not effected upon the applicant.
Civil Procedure — Service of Process — Substituted Service — Duty to Attempt Personal Service
Before effecting service by substituted service, the party seeking such service must establish that attempts were made to personally serve the defendant, particularly where the defendant resides abroad and the plaintiff is aware of the defendant's foreign address.
Civil Procedure — Service of Process — Contradictory Affidavits — Effect on Validity of Service
Where a process server depones in an affidavit of service that service was acknowledged but subsequently depones in an application for substituted service that the defendants refused service, such contradiction points to untruthfulness and creates doubt as to whether the process server made any effort to effect personal service, rendering the service ineffective and unsatisfactory.

Legislation cited (1)

Full judgment

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Twasse v Froli Investments (U) Ltd (Miscellaneous Application No. 925 of 2016) [2017] UGCommC 56 (28 March 2017)
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.