Wakilii

Williamson and Another v Walmsley (Civil Suit No. 522 of 1955.)

East African Court of Appeal · [1955] EACA 281 · 1955 Judgment for Plaintiff (Conditional) AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
First instance civil suit for recovery of possession based on forfeiture of lease for non-payment of rent
Decision
Defendant granted relief against forfeiture conditional on providing security for costs within 24 hours; if security not provided, possession to be given to second plaintiff with mesne profits

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

The court held that the first plaintiff, by commencing ejectment proceedings and serving the summons on the tenant before transferring the property, had validly exercised her option to forfeit the lease under section 111(g) of the Transfer of Property Act. The lease terminated upon service of the summons. The first plaintiff's right to possession passed to the second plaintiff (transferee) upon the sale. The transferee could not itself have forfeited the lease for pre-transfer rent arrears under the proviso to section 109, but it succeeded to the right to possession already established by the original lessor. Relief against forfeiture was granted conditional on the defendant providing security for costs within 24 hours.

Outcome

Defendant granted relief against forfeiture conditional on providing security for costs within 24 hours; if security not provided, possession to be given to second plaintiff with mesne profits

Facts

The first plaintiff leased premises to the defendant under a ten-year lease commencing 1 January 1951 at a monthly rent of Sh. 250. A formal lease was executed on 1 May 1955 with a forfeiture clause for non-payment of rent for 21 days. The defendant was frequently in arrears. On 9 June 1955, the first plaintiff filed suit for possession on the ground that April 1955 rent was unpaid. On 21 June 1955, the first plaintiff entered into an agreement to sell the premises to the second plaintiff, with transfer completed on 1 September 1955. The second plaintiff took the property subject to the lease but with knowledge of the ejectment proceedings and agreed to join the suit if required. The second plaintiff was joined as plaintiff on 21 February 1956. By the date of hearing, all rent had been paid up to date.

Issues

  1. Whether the first plaintiff, having transferred her interest in the property after commencing proceedings, was entitled to an order for possession.
  2. Whether the second plaintiff (transferee) was entitled to forfeit the lease for non-payment of rent that fell due before the transfer.
  3. Whether the lease had been validly forfeited by the first plaintiff before the transfer.
  4. Whether relief against forfeiture should be granted to the defendant under section 114 of the Transfer of Property Act.

Orders

  • The defendant shall provide security within 24 hours to the satisfaction of the Court for payment to the plaintiffs of the full costs of the suit within 15 days of the same being ascertained on taxation.
  • On provision of such security, the defendant is relieved against forfeiture of the lease.
  • If default is made in the provision of security, possession of the premises shall be given to the plaintiffs Turner, Barker and Hatfield Ltd. together with mesne profits to the date of possession.
  • Costs of the suit to be paid by the defendant.

Rules and key headnotes

Landlord and Tenant — Forfeiture — Effect of Transfer of Lessor's Interest — Right to Forfeit for Pre-Transfer Breach
A transferee of a lessor's interest is not entitled to arrears of rent due before the transfer under the proviso to section 109 of the Transfer of Property Act 1882, and consequently cannot forfeit a lease for non-payment of such rent.
Landlord and Tenant — Forfeiture — Election to Forfeit — Commencement of Proceedings
Where a lessor has a right to elect to forfeit a lease after breach of covenant under section 111(g) of the Transfer of Property Act 1882, the commencement of ejectment proceedings and service of the summons on the tenant constitutes both the exercise of the option to forfeit and the determination of the tenancy.
Landlord and Tenant — Transfer of Lessor's Interest — Right to Possession After Forfeiture
Where a lessor validly forfeits a lease and becomes entitled to possession before transferring the property, the right to possession passes to the transferee along with the other rights in the property, and the transferee is entitled to recover possession.
Landlord and Tenant — Relief Against Forfeiture — Tender of Costs
Relief against forfeiture under section 114 of the Transfer of Property Act 1882 may be granted where provision of security for payment of costs within a specified period after taxation is reasonable compliance with the section, even where tender of the full costs cannot be made at the hearing because the costs have not yet been ascertained.
Lease — Variation of Terms — Oral Agreement — Admissibility of Evidence
Evidence of an alleged oral variation of the terms of a written lease is not admissible under the Indian Evidence Act.
Lease — Forfeiture — Acceptance of Rent After Institution of Suit
Under section 112 of the Transfer of Property Act 1882, acceptance of rent after the institution of a suit for forfeiture does not constitute a waiver of the forfeiture.

Legislation cited (6)

  • Indian Transfer of Property Act 1882 s.109
  • Indian Transfer of Property Act 1882 s.111(g)
  • Indian Transfer of Property Act 1882 s.112
  • Indian Transfer of Property Act 1882 s.114
  • Indian Evidence Act
  • Civil Procedure Rules 1948 Order 23 rule 9

Cases cited (3)

  • Vishveshwar Vighneshwar Shadri v Mahableshwar Subba Bhatta (1919) I.L.R. 43 Born. 28
  • Grimwood v Moss (1871-2) L.R. 7 C.P. 360
  • Serjeant v Nash, Field & Co. (1903) 2 K.B. 304

Full judgment

↓ Download PDF

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

Williamson and Another v Walmsley (Civil Suit No. 522 of 1955.) [1955] EACA 281 (1 January 1955)
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.