National Bank of Commerce Ltd versus Ahmed Freight Ltd; Misc Commercial Case No 230 of 2016: High Court of Tanzania (Commercial Division) at Dar es Salaam (Unreported).
- Civil Procedure
- Appearance – Non – appearance of plaintiff – suit dismissed – application to set aside dismissal order -sufficient reason must be shown – what amounts to sufficient cause?
- Appearance – non – appearance by advocate- legal officer recorded wrongly hearing date – whether sufficient reason?.
Held:-
(i) What amounts to sufficient cause has not been defined in the law. However, in determining whether there is sufficient cause certain factors should be taken into account including why the applicant absented himself; whether or not the absence was deliberate; whether the application has been brought promptly; the conduct of the applicant i.e lack of diligence on the part of the applicant and whether the successful party would be prejudiced by the judgment being set aside.
(ii) When non – appearance is due to incorrect recording of the hearing date done by a legal officer and if such mistake was not deliberate but rather human error, it justifies for the grant of restoration of dismissed suit. The fact that the grant of the application will not prejudice the respondent is also relevant.