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Supreme Court
Gordon Thomas Dutton v The Minister of Water Resources Development and Management & The City of Harare
[2020] ZWSC 61
Case Details
Court
Supreme Court
Date
24 November 2020
Citation
[2020] ZWSC 61
Judgment No.
SC 61/20
Outcome
unknown
Case Type
Appeal
Bench
Presiding
Mavangira JA
Full Bench
Garwe JAMavangira JAMakoni JA
Areas of Law
Administrative LawCivil Procedure
Keywords
contempt of courtres judicatadouble jeopardywater supplyongoing obligationsenforcement
Tags
contempt of courtwater supplylocal governmentenforcement
legislation
Statutes Cited
- Maintenance Act
ai analysis
Case Summary
Key Issues
- {"issue_text":"Whether a litigant can bring fresh contempt proceedings for continued non-compliance with the same court order after previous contempt finding","issue_type":"procedural","dispositive":"yes","related_facts":"Ongoing obligation to supply water; temporary compliance after first contempt; subsequent non-compliance"}
- {"issue_text":"Whether the principle of res judicata applies to ongoing contempt of court orders","issue_type":"law","dispositive":"yes","related_facts":"Previous contempt finding; ongoing nature of water supply obligation"}
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background
Facts of the Case
Background
The appellant obtained a court order in 2011 requiring respondents to supply water to his property for minimum 2 days per week. After respondents failed to comply, they were found guilty of contempt in 2012 and fined. Following subsequent non-compliance, appellant brought fresh contempt proceedings in 2017, which the High Court dismissed as res judicata.
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