CaseLaw
UTC Vs. Pamotei (1989) CLR 3(d) (SC)
Judgement delivered on March 6th 1989
Brief
Facts
The respondents as plaintiffs, instituted an action against the appellant claiming the sum of N54,911.00 being money had and received by the appellant for the de-livery of some motor vehicles. The Appellant company entered an appearance, and the plaintiffs filed an application for summary judgment under order 10 rule 1 of the High Court of Lagos State (Civil Procedure) Rules. The application was granted on the 25th June, 1984, and on that same day the appellant filed a motion for extension of time to file his statement of defence. He then filed a motion for leave to set aside the judgement obtained by the plaintiffs, and to let in the defence filed with the motion for extension of time. This application was granted. The plaintiff, dissatisfied with this appealed to the Court of Appeal, contending that since the defendant failed to file an affidavit disclosing his defence in answer to the summons for summary judgement under order 10 he was not entitled to have the judgment set aside.
The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, and set aside the ruling of the learned trial Judge which set aside the summary judgment he had earlier given to the plaintiffs, thus restoring the summary judgment obtained by the plaintiffs. The defendant, aggrieved by .this decision, appealed to the Supreme Court, contending inter alia, that the Court of Appeal erred in law in setting aside the ruling of the trial court in it’s consideration of the interpretation of order 10 rule 3(a) of the High Court of Lagos State (Civil Procedure) Rules, when it held that the defence filed after the entry of judgement was of no effect, in stating that only an affidavit stating a good defence can bar an automatic entry of judgment and in holding that a judgment obtained under order 10 is not a default judgment but a judgment on the merits.
Issues
The Court of Appeal erred in law in setting aside the Ruling of the High...