The High Court in Mbarara has ordered oil giant Total Energies to pay 104 million shillings in compensation to a Range Rover owner after a significant fueling mishap.
The incident occurred on November 23, 2019, when a Total pump attendant at Total Rwizi Service Station along the Mbarara-Kabale Highway mistakenly filled the vehicle with the wrong type of fuel, causing extensive damage.
The plaintiff, Dr. Vincent Owarwo, told the court that he drove his Range Rover motor vehicle, registration UBD 476F, to Total Rwizi Service Station and instructed the pump attendant to fill it with 30 liters of diesel. The pump attendant instead filled the vehicle’s tank with gasoline.
Dr. Owarwo asked the court to order Total Energies to replace his vehicle that was purchased for Sh 118 million, pay general damages worth Sh 250 million, and 15 special damages worth Sh 85 million accumulated on renting cars, interest thereon, and costs of the suit.
The defendant (Total Energies) argued that the plaintiff (Dr. Owarwo) is not entitled to any of the sought reliefs.
On car replacement, Judge Nshimye Allan Paul ruled that mitigation of loss demands that if a part or entire system can be replaced to return the car to its original position, then it ought to be done at the earliest opportunity and the cost of replacement of the part or system be pleaded in special damages. On the other hand, he said that if the car is checked and diagnosed by a qualified person and found to be unrepairable, warranting replacement, then the court ought to consider deprecation when determining the replacement cost.
The judge found that Dr. Owarwo’s own technical witness stated that the fuel system was replaceable but also added that due to long parking, other systems had become faulty. These include the suspension system, which has nothing to do with the fuel system, in which Total Energies pump attendant put wrong fuel.
“I observe that whereas the evidence on record shows that the fuel system suffered significant assault, there is no evidence to show the damage to the engine. If the plaintiff had replaced the whole fuel system immediately, the car would possibly be functional, and he would then sue for special damages for the replacement of the whole fuel system, which has a causal link to the act of putting wrong fuel in it,” Justice Nshimye said.
He added: “Having found that malfunctioning of the car was linked to the wrong fuel put in the car, and considering that the PW2 stated that the fuel system was replaceable but did not state the value of the fuel system, I will consider an amount under general damage that would have been sufficient for the defendant to put back the plaintiff in his original position by replacing the fuel system of the car. A case has not been made out based on the evidence on record to justify the replacement of the whole car.”
On Dr. Owarwo’s request number two (special damages on which he asked for Sh 85 million), the judge said that special damages must specifically be pleaded and strictly proved.
“The plaintiff exhibited on court record receipts for hiring a motor vehicle, but some of these receipts were challenged due to inconsistencies in the dates and serial numbers. In that regard, I will only accept the chronological progression.
receipts issued prior to the inconsistent receipt on July 1, 2021. The ones that are acceptable are serial numbers 106, 108, 115, 120, 122, 125, 132, 133, 134, 135, 138, 140, and 142, all totaling to UGX 54,150,000/=,” the judge observed.
On Dr. Owarwo’s request number three (general damages on which he asked for Sh 250 million), the judge observed that online research of the cost of the fuel system components of a Range Rover manufactured in 2004 may cost over
ten million.
He therefore awarded Sh20 million towards replacing the fuel system of Dr. Owarwo’s Range Rover.
Justice Nshimye also awarded Sh30 million for the inconvenience suffered by Dr. Owarwo due to the actions of the pump attendant.
In total, the general damages awarded are Sh50 million.
RULING
“I make the following orders: The suit succeeds against the defendant, who is now called Total Energies Marketing Uganda Limited,” Justice Nshimye ruled.
Total Energies Marketing Uganda Limited is liable for the damage occasioned to the plaintiff’s vehicle, the Range Rover UBD 467 F.
Total Energies Marketing Uganda Limited shall pay special damages of UGX 54,150,000/= to the plaintiff.
Total Energies Marketing Uganda Limited shall pay general damages of UGX 50,000,000/= to the plaintiff.
Total Energies Marketing Uganda Limited shall pay the costs of this suit to the plaintiff.
Total Energies Marketing Uganda Limited shall pay interest on the awards in (3) and (4) at a rate of 10% per annum from the date of filing of this suit until payment in full.
