Cause of action



RE: CAUSE OF ACTION.

In AUTO GARAGE Vs MOTOKOV(1971)EA392 defines a cause of action as;
i) that right of relief is enjoyed by the plaintiff,
ii) that the right was violated and hence damages,
iii) that the defendant is liable for the said violation,

In A.G Vs MAJ. GEN. TINYEFUZA SCCA NO.1/1997 adopting the definition in Mulla on Code of Civil Procedure,Vloume 1,14th Edition  at page206,WAMBUZI,CJ stated that “’A cause of action’ means every fact,which,if traversed,it would be necessary for the plaintiff to prove in order to support his right to a judgment of the court. In otherwords, it is a bundle of facts which taken with the law applicable to them gives the plaintiff a right to relief against the defendant.

The court went on to say that”… it must include some act done by the defendant since in the absence of such an act no cause of action can possibly accrue. That it is not limited to the actual infringement of the right sued on but includes all the material facts on which it is founded.
However, that a cause of action does not comprise of the evidence necessary to prove the facts but every fact necessary for the plaintiff to prove to enable him to obtain  a decree and everything which if not proved would give the defendant a right to an immediate judgment.

In other words, “a bundle of facts which it is necessary for the plaintiff to prove in order to succeed in the suit…..”
The facts of the case were that the respondent, Maj Gen David Tinyefuza was the petitioner in the constitutional court. He was a senior member of the UPDF and held various offices in defence department and president office. On 29 November 1996, the respondent gave evidence before the parliamentary sessional committee on defense and internal affairs about the insurgency in the northern Uganda. The respondent learnt from the newspaper that military authority thought his evidence before the said committee did not ‘conform to the military line’ that he should resign from the army and that he was to appear before the high command. the petitioner did not consider himself a member of the armed forces but to clear the air he resigned from the armed forces by a letter to which he received a letter from the minister of state for defense and filed a petition in the constitutional court, and prayed for orders restraining all persons whatsoever from interfering or threatening to interfere or denying the petitioner the exercise of his rights and freedoms guaranteed by the provisions of the constitution.

One of the issues was, whether the facts disclosed a cause of action.
The appellant in their appeal raised inter alia a ground that the court of appeal in holding that the pleadings of the petitioner disclosed a cause of action on the ground that the petitioner was required to performed forced labour, whereas no such requirement was directly or indirectly disclosed by the pleadings.
The learned chief justice observed that a cause of action has no relation whatever to the defence which may be set up by the defendant, nor does it depend on the character of the relief prayed for by the plaintiff, but that it is media upon which the plaintiff asks the court to arrive at a conclusion in his favor. And that the cause of action must be ancedent to the institution of the suit.
He then held that from the face of it, the petition disclosed a cause of action at pg17 and 18 of his judgment.

That a violation or threats to violate the rights or privileges under the law would constitute a cause of action.
To determine whether the plaint does or does not disclose a cause of action quoting A.G Vs OLUCH (1973) EA392, where it was stated that, the question whether a plaint discloses a cause of action must be determined upon perusal of the plaint alone, together with anything attached so as to form part of it, and upon the assumption that any allegations or implied allegations of fact in it are true. In his judgment, ODER JSC, held at pg 15 of his judgment that the letter, attached to the petition from the state minister of defence constituted an act which violated the rights of the petitioner, hence the cause of action.
TSEKOOKO JSC,observed at pg12 of his judgment that, observed that a “cause of action is based on the averments or allegations….that it is founded on a “grievance” and supporting grounds which I understand to mean statement or allegations indicating that the petitioner’s right or rights had been violated…”
In MAXIMOV OLEG PETROVICH VS PREMCHANDRA SHENOI&ANOR(1998)IKALR52 it was held that ….in considering that a plaint discloses a cause of action on the plaint must be looked at so that it is apparent on its face that the plaintiff appears as a person aggrieved by the violation of his rights and that it is the defendant who is liable
As regards frivolous and vexatious, the learned judge held that the plaint must show that to a reasonable person, the plaintiff has no kind of grievance that is entitled to be adjudicated upon but that the plaintiff is actuated by malafide to harass the defendant. Under O.7r11(a)(e)CPR ,a plaint will be rejected if it doesn’t disclose a cause of action or if, it is frivolous and vexatious.

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