Automated Summary
Key Facts
The case involves a road traffic accident on 8 November 2012 between Lou Yuesheng (applicant) and Webber Chinyadza (respondent). The respondent sued the applicant in HC 1722/13 for damages including $30,000 for vehicle damage, $15,000 for pain and suffering, and $18,000 for replacement vehicle costs. A Deed of Settlement was signed on 27 November 2018 and converted into a court order by consent on 2 April 2019. The applicant paid ZWL 51,750 into the Sheriff's account on 15 December 2021, arguing it fulfilled the debt under S.I. 33/19's currency regulations. The respondent contested the payment in local currency, asserting the debt remained in USD. The court ruled the court order (post-S.I. 33/19) superseded the Deed of Settlement, requiring USD payment at prevailing rates.
Issues
- The court assessed whether the Deed of Settlement could independently bind the parties to payment terms or if the subsequent court order (2 April 2019) was necessary for enforceability. The respondent emphasized that only a court order allows execution, while the applicant contended the Deed of Settlement, once registered, created a res judicata effect.
- The court analyzed if the applicant's liability, expressed in USD before S.I. 33/19 (22 February 2019), required payment in RTGS dollars at a 1:1 rate. The respondent argued the debt remained in USD as the order by consent was issued after the effective date, while the applicant claimed the Deed of Settlement triggered currency conversion under the regulations.
- The court determined whether the Deed of Settlement, signed on 27 November 2018, created a binding compromise that effectively replaced or nullified the subsequent order by consent (granted on 2 April 2019). The applicant argued the Deed of Settlement, subject to the new currency regime in S.I. 33/19, discharged the debt in RTGS dollars, while the respondent maintained the court order remained enforceable in USD.
Holdings
The court held that the Deed of Settlement did not extinguish the court order by consent, which remained binding. The applicant's payment in Zimbabwean dollars (ZWL) did not discharge the judgment debt as the obligation arose after the effective date of S.I. 33/19, requiring payment in United States Dollars (USD) or ZWL at the prevailing interbank rate. The court also determined that the Deed of Settlement was conditional on the order by consent and that the liability was tied to the court order's grant date (2 April 2019), not the Deed of Settlement's signing date (27 November 2018).
Remedies
- Each party shall bear its own costs of suit.
- The warrant for civil imprisonment issued in HC 7068/2021 (ref case HC 1722/13) be and is hereby discharged.
- The applicant be and is hereby ordered to pay the judgment debt in HC 1722/2013 (ref case HC 7068/2021) in United States Dollars or alternatively in ZWL (Zimbabwean Dollars) at the prevailing bank rate at date of payment.
Legal Principles
- The court found the parties estopped from denying the enforceability of the order by consent, which was explicitly tied to the Deed of Settlement. Both parties agreed to subject the Deed to the order, making its terms binding despite the Deed's pre-S.I. 33/19 currency terms.
- The court held that the Deed of Settlement, when reduced into an order by consent, operates as res judicata, binding the parties and extinguishing the original cause of action. The order by consent (granted after the effective date of S.I. 33/19) was deemed the enforceable judgment, not the Deed itself.
Precedent Name
- Kempen v Kempen
- Godza v Sibanda
- Zambezi Gas Zimbabwe (Private) Limited v N.R. Barber (Private) Limited
- Georgias and Another v Standard Chartered Bank
Cited Statute
- Finance Act (No.2) Act, No.7 of 2019
- Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (Legal Tender) Regulations, 2019
- High Court Act [Chapter 7:06]
- Presidential Powers (Temporary Measures) (Amendment of Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Act and Issue of Real Time Gross Settlement Electronic Dollars (RTGS Dollars)) Regulations, 2019
Judge Name
Musithu
Passage Text
- The obligation to pay the debt was not tied to the date on the Deed of Settlement since that same deed subjected itself to yet another legal process, which is the granting of the order by consent.
- In the absence of evidence showing that the payment of the debt was tied to the signing of the Deed of Settlement and not the granting of the order by consent, the court determines that the obligation to pay the judgment debt arose after the granting of the order by consent.
- The Applicant be and is hereby ordered to pay the judgment debt in HC 1722/2013 (ref case HC 7068/2021) in United States Dollars or alternatively in ZWL (Zimbabwean Dollars) at the prevailing bank rate at date of payment.