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Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited v Levy Okello and 41 others (Civil Reference 45 of 2011)

Court of Appeal · [2021] UGCA 11 · 2021 Reference Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Reference to a full bench of the Court of Appeal from a ruling of a single Justice upholding refusal to extend time to file a Notice of Appeal
Decision
Reference dismissed with costs to the Respondents; extension of time to file Notice of Appeal refused

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The Court of Appeal, sitting as a full bench, dismissed the reference against a single Justice's refusal to extend time to file a Notice of Appeal. Where the Applicant and its advocates disobeyed the trial court's directions to attend for mention and judgment delivery, the absence of a judgment notice was not sufficient reason to extend time. The intended appeal, which contested only the retrospective award of interest under section 26(2) of the Civil Procedure Act, was not arguable because the trial court had lawfully exercised its discretion to award interest for the period the respondents were deprived of use of their compensation money. No injustice would result from shutting out the appeal. The reference was dismissed with costs.

Outcome

Reference dismissed with costs to the Respondents; extension of time to file Notice of Appeal refused

Facts

Levy Okello and 41 other residents of Obutowelo 'A' village, Lira Municipality, sued the Applicant electricity company in the High Court at Gulu (Civil Suit No. 85 of 2004) seeking compensation for house structures and non-use of land affected by a 33 KV electric line erected over their land in 2003. Judgment was delivered in favour of the residents on 26 February 2010 in the absence of the Applicant and its advocates, who had failed to attend a scheduled mention despite the trial court's directions given in the presence of counsel. The Applicant, out of time to appeal, sought an extension of time to file a Notice of Appeal, arguing it had not been served with a judgment notice and only learnt of the judgment on 20 May 2010. The trial court had awarded interest at 15% per annum from 1 August 2003 on the compensatory sums. The Applicant's sole substantive complaint on the intended appeal was the retrospective start date of interest.

Issues

  1. Whether non-service of a judgment notice constituted sufficient reason to extend time within which to file a Notice of Appeal.
  2. Whether the single Justice erred in finding that the Applicant had several lawyers representing it in the trial suit.
  3. Whether the Applicant had an arguable case on appeal and whether shutting out the appeal would cause injustice warranting an extension of time.

Orders

  • Reference dismissed.
  • Costs of the reference awarded to the Respondents.

Rules and key headnotes

Extension of Time — Notice of Appeal — Sufficient Reason — Non-service of Judgment Notice
Non-service of a judgment notice is not an automatic or sufficient reason for extending time to lodge a Notice of Appeal where the applicant and its advocates disobeyed the trial court's directions to attend for mention and judgment delivery; a party that dishonours court directions bears the consequences of that conduct.
Extension of Time — Sufficient Reason — Unfettered Discretion — Case-by-case Assessment
What constitutes 'sufficient reason' for extension of time under Rule 5 of the Court's Rules is not defined and is left to the court's unfettered discretion, to be determined on a case-by-case basis having regard to all the circumstances, including whether the application was brought promptly and whether shutting out the appeal would cause injustice.
Extension of Time — Arguable Case on Appeal — Prospects of Success
An extension of time will be refused where the intended appeal discloses no arguable case and shutting it out would cause no injustice, even where the sums in issue are substantial, provided the impugned decision is soundly grounded in law.
Compensation — Award of Interest — Discretion under Civil Procedure Act s.26(2)
Under section 26(2) of the Civil Procedure Act a court has discretion to award interest on a monetary decree for a period prior to the institution of the suit; an appellate court will not interfere with that discretion where it is properly grounded in the statute and premised on the claimant having been deprived of the use of monies owed.

Legislation cited (6)

Cases cited (4)

  • St. Kizito Youth Farm Ltd v Attorney General (Civil Application No. 58 of 1997)
  • F. L. Kaderbhai & Another vs. Shamsherali M. Zaver Virji & Others, Civil Application No. 20 of 208 (Supreme Court)
  • Boney M. Katatumba v Waheed Karim (Civil Application No. 27 of 2007)
  • American Express International Banking Ltd vs. Atul (1990 - 94) EA 10 (Supreme Court)

Full judgment

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

Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited v Levy Okello and 41 others (Civil Reference 45 of 2011) [2021] UGCA 11 (31 March 2021)
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.