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THE CASE LIBRARY

Case Title

NAIRAY ESTATE DEVELOPMENT v. MOHAMMED ISMAIL CIVIL APPEAL J4/44/2024 Page 11-12

Case Principle
Misuse of the omnibus grounds by some legal practitioners
Case Authority
Finally in the case of Atuguba & Associates vs. Scion Capital (UK) Ltd & Another (2017- 2020) 2 SGLR 196 the Supreme Court speaking through Amegatcher JSC on the formulation of grounds of appeal and the misuse of the omnibus ground of appeal stated as follows: “It has long been the practice among some legal practitioners to shirk the responsibility imposed on them to formulate specific grounds of appeal stating where the trial judges erred for the consideration of the appellate court. The omnibus ground has been a hideout ground; the responsibility in even minor appeals is shifted to the appellate judges to comb through the record of appeal, review the evidence and identify the specific areas the trial judge erred before coming out with the court’s opinion on the merits or otherwise of the appeal. The situation is worrying when no viva voce evidence is proffered and a judge is called upon to exercise judicial discretion, such as in applications for injunction, stay of execution, amendment, joinder, judicial review and consolidation, just to mention a few. In our opinion, though the rules of court allow the omnibus ground to be formulated as part of the grounds of appeal, it would greatly expedite justice delivery if legal practitioners formulate specific grounds of appeal identifying where the trial judge erred in the exercise of discretion”.