[1930] EACA 96

[1930] EACA 96

The court held that when a defendant is granted conditional leave to defend a suit and fails to comply with the condition (in this case, depositing £100 into court), the leave lapses and judgment is entered ex parte. In such circumstances, the plaintiff is only entitled to the fixed costs as prescribed by the rules for specially endorsed plaints, not a full bill of costs. The court further clarified that the failure to fulfill the condition for leave to defend does not remove the case from the summary procedure cost rules. The Registrar's allowance of Sh. 30 for attendance on the application for leave was upheld, and an additional Sh. 34 was allowed for advocate's costs on the application...

Citation
[1930] EACA 96
Parties
Plaintiff: Lakhman Bhanji; Defendant: T. Thakore
Court
East African Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Judgment Date
1 January 1930
Case Number
C.C. 365/1930.
Procedural Posture
Civil Suit / Taxation of Costs
Outcome
Plaintiff entitled only to fixed costs and specified additional costs; full bill of costs disallowed.
Judges
Barth, C.J (Kenya)
Legal Topics
Costs Taxation, Conditional Leave to Defend, Summary Judgment, Fixed Costs, Order 33, Failure to Provide Security
Source Language
English
Civil Procedure Costs Taxation Conditional Leave to Defend Summary Judgment Fixed Costs Order 33 Failure to Provide Security

Case Brief

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Parties

Lakhman Bhanji

Plaintiff

T. Thakore

Defendant

Procedural Posture

Civil Suit / Taxation of Costs

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the plaintiff is entitled to full costs or only fixed costs when the defendant fails to fulfill the condition for leave to defend.
  2. 2 Whether conditional leave to defend, if unfulfilled, affects the rule for costs in summary cases.

Ratio Decidendi

The court held that when a defendant is granted conditional leave to defend a suit and fails to comply with the condition (in this case, depositing £100 into court), the leave lapses and judgment is entered ex parte. In such circumstances, the plaintiff is only entitled to the fixed costs as prescribed by the rules for specially endorsed plaints, not a full bill of costs. The court further clarified that the failure to fulfill the condition for leave to defend does not remove the case from the summary procedure cost rules. The Registrar's allowance of Sh. 30 for attendance on the application for leave was upheld, and an additional Sh. 34 was allowed for advocate's costs on the application...

Court Disposition

Plaintiff entitled only to fixed costs and specified additional costs; full bill of costs disallowed.

Orders

  • Plaintiff awarded fixed costs of Sh. 100 as provided by the rules.
  • Plaintiff awarded Sh. 30 for attendance in Chambers on 13-11-30.