POSB put on trial as High Court dismisses exception in lawsuit involving over US$126,000
THE High Court has dismissed an exception raised by the People’s Own Savings Bank (POSB) against Gono Chirandu, clearing the way for the matter to proceed to trial over a disputed foreign currency transaction. The dispute arose after Chirandu filed a claim for damages alleging breach of a banker-customer contract, accusing POSB of failing to […] The post POSB put on trial as High Court dismisses exception in lawsuit involving over US$126,000 appeared first on NewZimbabwe.com.
Black News 
THE High Court has dismissed an exception raised by the People’s Own Savings Bank (POSB) against Gono Chirandu, clearing the way for the matter to proceed to trial over a disputed foreign currency transaction.
The dispute arose after Chirandu filed a claim for damages alleging breach of a banker-customer contract, accusing POSB of failing to timeously submit its bid to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe foreign currency auction for US$126,189. The plaintiff further claimed that its funds were unlawfully blocked for three months, resulting in financial loss.
POSB initially challenged the claim through an exception, arguing that the summons and declaration did not disclose a valid cause of action. After the court allowed Gono Chirandu to amend its pleadings, the bank filed a second exception, contending that the amended claim remained legally defective. The bank argued that the claim was premised on the erosion of the value of Zimbabwe dollar funds due to inflation, which it said could not found a cause of action in law.
In its plea, POSB maintained that the plaintiff’s bid had not met the requirements for submission to the central bank because the account was not adequately funded. It also denied blocking the plaintiff’s funds without instruction, stating that the funds were held on the plaintiff’s instructions until those instructions were withdrawn. The bank further argued that even if the bid had been submitted, the plaintiff would not have received the foreign currency following the suspension of the auction system.
In response, Chirandu argued that its claim was contractual in nature and that inflation was merely a component of the damages claimed. It submitted that the defendant was improperly addressing the merits of the case rather than the legal sufficiency of the pleadings.
In his ruling High Court judge Joseph Chilimbe noted procedural irregularities in the manner the exception was raised, observing that it had been embedded within a plea on the merits without explanation or condonation. Despite this, the court proceeded to consider the arguments as points of law.
The court held that the summons clearly set out a claim for damages arising from an alleged breach of a banker-customer contract. It found that references to inflation in the declaration did not invalidate the claim at the pleading stage and that their relevance would be determined at trial.
“The point at this stage is not to establish the veracity of the claim. That is the duty of the trial court,” Chilimbe said.
The court further held that disputes regarding the quantification or proof of damages, including issues relating to inflation and loss of purchasing power, were matters for evidence and could not be resolved through an exception.
It concluded that Gono Chirandu had pleaded a discernible cause of action founded in contract and that the issues raised by POSB were more appropriately dealt with during trial proceedings.
The exception was dismissed with costs.
The post POSB put on trial as High Court dismisses exception in lawsuit involving over US$126,000 appeared first on NewZimbabwe.com.
