Ndala v Plan Malawi & General Alliance Insurance Limited (Civil Cause 297 of 2018) [2021] MWHC 233 (30 November 2021)

Enock Ndala v. Plan Malawi & General Alliance Insurance Limited ■ Kenyatta Nyirenda, J JUDICIARY IN THE HIGH COURT OF MALAWI LILONGWE DISTRICT REGISTRY CIVIL CAUSE NO. 297 OF 2018 ■ ■ BETWEEN ENOCK ND ALA .............. CLAIMANT AND' PLAN MALAWI.......................... 1st DEFENDANT GENERAL ALLIANCE INSURANCE LIMITED............2nd DEFENDANT CORAM: THE HONOURABLE JUSTICE KENYATTA NYIRENDA Mr. Henry Kachi-ngwe, Court Clerk - . ■ ~~ . -.... Kenyatta Nyirenda, J. . . The present case was commenced on 1 llh April 2018. The Claimant claims insurance payment for injuries that he sustained due to a road accident that occurred on 28th July 2016. On 25th September 2018, the Claimant filed with the Court an application to amend the statement of. case to make it clear that the claim was in respect of workers compensation.. The application was granted on 22nd November 2018. More than three have elapsed since the Claimant took a step to prosecute the action. This is clearly an abuse of court process. Public policy requires that litigation must come to an end (Interest reipublicae us sitflnislitium). Allowing further prosecution of the action would be prejudicial not only to. the interests of the Respondent but it would also be detrimental to good administration in general and to good administration of justice in particular: see R. v. Dairy Produce Quota for Tribunal for England and Wales, ex p. Caswelll [1989] 1 W. L. R 1089. In short, the delay herein is intolerable.. “They have lasted so long as to turn justice sour”, to use the Enock Ndala v. Plan Malawi & General Alliance Insurance Limited Kenyatta Nyirenda, J. words of Lord Denning M. R. in Allen, v. Sir Alfred McAlpine <& Sons Ltd [1968] 1ALLER543 * • : • ’' > j-L. ’• • . The common law position is now backed by law: see Order 12, r.56, of the Court (High Court) (Civil Procedure) Rules [Hereinafter referred to as “CPR”] which is couched in the following terms: . ’ “The Court may strike out a proceeding without notice, if there has been no step taken in the proceedings for 12 months. ’’ ' ‘ ■ In the present proceedings, as already mentioned, more than three years have elapsed without the Claimant taking steps to prosecute this case. This is clearly an abuse of court process. I have no option but to.strike out the proceedings herein. It is so ordered. " . < . • •. In light of the foregoing and by reason thereof, the Registrar’s attention is drawn to Order 12, r.58, of CPR. Pronounced in Court this 30th day of Noyembci:2()21 at Lilongwe in the Republic of Malawi. Kenyatta Nyirenda JUDGE 2