International Marketing Services Private Limited. v National Bank of Malawi (Civil Cause 252 of 1987) [1993] MWHC 26 (5 March 1993)

PE, BETWEEN: IN THE HIGH COURT OF MALAWT nee alates ee A ce Ten ier PRINCIPAL REGISTRY CIVIL CAUSE NO. 252 OF 1987 eereeccreneet : een ee INTERNATIONAL MARKETING SERVICES (PVT) LED. . sce +e PLAINTIFF NATIONAL BANK OF ele fons CORAM: tne ee s e Internationa! Marketing Services (Pvt) Limited, i é ° MBALAME, J. Chikopa/Chizeze, OF Counsel, for the Plaintiff Chilige, of counsel for the Defendant i selemani/Nkhoma, Official Interpreters Gausi (Mrs) /Longwe, Court Reporters 4 ‘ames JUDGEMENT se arrace van rele eR the oclesss Be ceie Z a company of jlity ana incor poretec under the comeanies Act its amended Heit of Summons, limited Liab (Cas 6:03) of the Laws of Malawi, claims damages from. the, jJefendant, tne National Bank of Melawi, @ commercial pank © registerea anc operating in the country under the provisions ° rh < ct = +0 Banking Act (Cap 44:01) of the Laws of Malawi, f£0r conversion by the defencant of the sum of K13,964-22, the property ef the plaintiff, or alternatively, the saic sum of money es money had ana received bY the defendant xo the plaintiff's use. It is the plaintiff's case that the slaintiff maintained @4 current Account at one of the éefencdant’s branches, namely, Victoria Avenue Branch in Blantyre. on or about the 4th June 1966. the gefendant, without any lawful excuse, it is allege, closed the plaintifis’ account anc transferrea & sum of K1L3,964.22 therefrom to a Suspense Account. Arouné the 23r@ October 966, the plaintiff demanded payment of the saic amount, but 476 eo to no avail, ane the said Gefencant has since refused to ef the Gefendants* Gefence is two-fold. They éo not ceny meintaining the plaintiff's account at VYietoria Avenue Branch and receiving therein from the plaintiff a sum of K58 ,632.22 which was suppesed to be in payment for salt GelivereG DY a comgany in the Republic of South Africa. The defendant remitted the amount less a sum ef K13,964.22 and contents thet since the money had been Asposites with the Gefencant to the account of the South African suppliers, the plaintiff has no claim over es In the alternative, the jefendant contends that it was agreed between ihe plaintiff ,-eues ey FO punzes e O} DSTPERPUS ZOU SeM FFPIAU reta ey, pue FFLAUTe Td au. 03 BHuoTeq 7OU Seor (eotTAzW uWyNoS "90 ezsuTUD eq UeA OF zuswAec 2ZOF 2F Ac, DeATSOSS Z2Z°Z£9'8Ss zo uotgaod e Hutec) 2°#965°ETN FO wns Sly SAGAS UB LUSTEG Sul WreTD FO JusMEVeIS Sur oue 7 suce eashexed o} pzebsea uVTM sSesTtue- ia SuR ur J zo uns S43 FTSS3T A0F Huidssy 9°999 77¥ 3UR ‘eOTxEY UZNOs “SD eRsUTUD sd UeA DT pted yuepuSszeD oyR “eOTAzZY UANOS ‘9D eqsutuD 3a ueA OF UAOUM Soew SASsM 22UN suosesa aoFy “XBASAOL 2SMOTTOZ se peez souszeD euz FO G pue y sudexzSeaed - 2B TBOTSUA RT AeAO WTeTO ot Deu gRTQUTETS au. 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FFTIUTeTA Sut uo gFFJO 358 RUDTA SRY SsSTorexs OF PETA TAWUS S2®A UB pUeTed cu3 UTSZOYRZ pezyeys szszzPew OF quensand 2euR sejzeis oue goszeq & uderSered sjzescsr JUuRHTS TSG 3 cot PU RB ho O Wer rs U4 ¢ a mi “OT RuUeDUSFed Sy} C2 yeuortzeusequr SuTzyexyaey Tet OC Mo sheu0w yo yuewkecd sy pesquezen S peqgep 2S333T Sit Acq FF TRU quenueszeq Sul Te sguacey SUYMOTTOZ Suz UT ST YoTus ar: ‘gouueds souezeDp ey FO CU 03 ejtoeAed pue FF_RPUTETC pTnoys FT “weuyZ PeMo = qunowe ou IT eAqzzred-pituy 2 SUR OF SUOTPJONAYSUT OTFTOScs UTM Yue Buz UF JuNowWe BeUR opted F37qUTeTG euL °~st02FpS49 S, ZR eqQUTSTS Su sem wns wotumM ‘77°7S6° ET) wns U2 3oNpSD suR peu JUeDUSTFSD SYR NUE D ro UR SotIO AoJF you oF =| 2 The Manager. Nationel Bank of Malawi, Victoria Avenue Branch, Blantyre. ‘de . TIT lym te 4 cm 5 wor LEX ann tr mo 1497 WE have paid in the sum of Keo .e00 and K3C0,090 to cur sony id Bo) = re ss eee as rh AA sb acocunt and we expect to way in @ further &41,000 in the next few days. proxsnacely K120,000 is in respect of respect of sait imports from South Africa anc snould ‘be Gebitec te ovr account a & held by you en behalf of the exporters. : -previde ail necessary documentation te enadvle an be made to the Excnange Control remittence of the funds to south issuing a cheque in favour of Leepela respect of clearing charges ang customs sroximately K6é,C00C; ane another be issucd in favour of Nati ona spect of the old Sept a rketing in ene Lte, t rela ays Bank, Zimbabwe in respec se Cebit our account accordingly. We ng amount rem socn as pos G tar The Let a c Statement ox Cla n che amount Saas was transt Ac cunt | ae | 4th dune 1906 3 was ait hat then wes the PAs Gant has sus badtke that t areny the siaintifs underteck to pey the y General Marketing International ana that x the money payable to Van De Ghinste cc, the cere dant was entitled to exercise tes right of set-off. . ing to Bullen ana Leak and Jacob's Precedents on Pleadings, a guarantee is definea as a ee Leer zl oromise to answer for the «edt, default «or another whe is, or is about, to secome liable to the person guaranteed." BR contract of this >be evidenced by a nete or he moranaum, in writinc, signed by the party to be chergec, er by his agent, it will be caught by section 4 “of the Stat CeuUc ti < : s in the case of Osman -v~ Mahomed (1978-60 : Ds 195, Skinner, CU, as he then was, guotecn with approval the case Of Berkmyr -v- Darnell, 91 ER af when he patagniecs tbs a § i eontract from a colla contract guaranteea by a guarantee. It is clear from Pa - The letter of Leth 8: 1985 - that the claintiff dic guarantee to the Gefunct General Marketing International formeé a collateral contract by which the und. I, therefore, find that at the time the pie the amount of K58,632.22 with the clear that General Marketing be able te honcur its cebts to the intiff was indebted to the defendant i 164.22 through zeneral Maz Bs ' 3 (t ng found that the plaintii jant in the sum aforesaid as at iSth 5 urn te the cuestion of set-off es plea Unlike a counter-claim, a set-off is - 7 WO oO: It entitles the defendant to refuse Lo a ead from him. This is wnat e Gael ne Bg thet ec el a \ the ister case. There is ne plaintiff of the sum of Ki3,964.22 anc the fuses to pay that amount because it is cwec by the plaintiff through a guarantee in that amount. In my judgement, the GefenGant is entitled te the set-off. The plaintiff's claim must, therefore, fail in its entirety and I award the costs of this action to the cefendant. PRONOUNCED in cpen court this 5th day of Marca LOSS .