Bernard Chibuye v Zambia Sugar Company Plc (APPEAL NO. 41/2002) [2003] ZMSC 187 (4 June 2003)

i ·- 1--.-,:. . , 1,,,.-:-,;,:':-~, 0 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF ZAMBIA HOLDEN AT NDOLA (CIVIL JURISDICTION) APPEAL NO. 41/2002 BETWEEN: BERNARD CHIBUYE APPELLANT AND ZAMBIA SUGAR COMP ANY PLC RESPONDENT LEW ANIKA, DCJ., CHIBESAKUNDA, MAMBILIMA JJS On 4th June, 2002 and 4th June 2003 For the Appellant: For the Respondent: Mrs. I. M. KUNDA of George Kunda & Co. No Appearance JUDGMENT I,,EW ANIKA, DCJ, delivered the judgment of the court. ' When we heard this appeal we dismissed it and said we would give our reasons later and we now do so. This appeal arose out of an application by the Appellant to the District Registrar for assessment of damages following upon a judgment by a Judge of the High Court delivered on 2nd October, 1998. At the hearing of the assessment of damages the parties relied on the affidavits which they had filed. Upon perusal of the affidavits the District Registrar discovered that after the delivery of the judgment the Appellant's advocates and the Respondent's advocates had entered into negotiations to settle the amount due to the Appellant out of court. Following these negotiations which were successfully concluded the Respondent's advocates paid to the Appellant's advocates on record the sum of K4, 182,928.47 on 28 th September, 2000 in full and ,, · final settlement of his claims and a further sum ofK.900,000.00 for costs. The District Registrar dismissed the application for assessment with costs. To be charitable to the Appellant's advocates, we would like to assume that at the time when they applied for assessment of damages, they were not aware that the parties herein had settled the matter out of court, otherwise their application for assessment of damages was an _abuse of court process, It was for this reason that we dismissed the appeal. D. M. L ika DEPUTY CHIEF JUSTICE L. P lb~ak~d• SUPREME COURT JUDGE LM. C. Mambilima SUPREME COURT JUDGE 2