StanChart to pay sh100m
STANDARD Chartered Bank is to part with over sh100m as damages in compensation to a hides and skins company for alleged wrongful seizure, and conversion of goods.
By Hillary Nsambu
STANDARD Chartered Bank is to part with over sh100m as damages in compensation to a hides and skins company for alleged wrongful seizure, and conversion of goods.
This follows a judgment in which the Court of Appeal upheld an award of sh65m as special damages that were awarded to Emag AG by the Principal Judge, James Ogoola, on April 12, 2002.
The court also awarded Emag AG sh40m as general damages against Standard Chartered Bank for conversion of the goods. The High Court had awarded Emag AG sh10m as general damages.
Both awards would fetch interest of 20% per annum from the date of the judgment till payment in full plus costs of the suit in the Court of Appeal and in the High Court. But Standard Chartered Bank through Barnabas Tumusingize, had denied selling Emag’s goods, saying the goods it seized belonged to Al Ahmed Hides and Skins.
But Justices, Mpagi-Bahigeine, Amos Twinomujuni and Stephen Kavuma presided over the appellate court and made a unanimous decision.
"An appellate court will only interfere with the trial judge's assessment of damages if the judge acted on some wrong principles of law or that the amount awarded was extremely high or very small as to market it, in the judgment of the appellate court, an entirely erroneous estimate of the damage to which, the appellant is entitled," the court ruled.
"It is apparent that the goods were sufficiently particularised as pointed out by the trial judge, but their value was not as required by law," the court noted as it left intact the award of sh65m as general damages awarded by the trial judge.
Ends
STANDARD Chartered Bank is to part with over sh100m as damages in compensation to a hides and skins company for alleged wrongful seizure, and conversion of goods.
This follows a judgment in which the Court of Appeal upheld an award of sh65m as special damages that were awarded to Emag AG by the Principal Judge, James Ogoola, on April 12, 2002.
The court also awarded Emag AG sh40m as general damages against Standard Chartered Bank for conversion of the goods. The High Court had awarded Emag AG sh10m as general damages.
Both awards would fetch interest of 20% per annum from the date of the judgment till payment in full plus costs of the suit in the Court of Appeal and in the High Court. But Standard Chartered Bank through Barnabas Tumusingize, had denied selling Emag’s goods, saying the goods it seized belonged to Al Ahmed Hides and Skins.
But Justices, Mpagi-Bahigeine, Amos Twinomujuni and Stephen Kavuma presided over the appellate court and made a unanimous decision.
"An appellate court will only interfere with the trial judge's assessment of damages if the judge acted on some wrong principles of law or that the amount awarded was extremely high or very small as to market it, in the judgment of the appellate court, an entirely erroneous estimate of the damage to which, the appellant is entitled," the court ruled.
"It is apparent that the goods were sufficiently particularised as pointed out by the trial judge, but their value was not as required by law," the court noted as it left intact the award of sh65m as general damages awarded by the trial judge.
Ends