Background:
As per the Judgement, the Court of Appeal has expressly cemented on the position that a mortgagee who fails to realise the full loan amount from the proceeds of the mortgage through a valid sale or auction, is not barred from claiming the outstanding loan balance from the mortgagor.
The Judgement subject to this update is in respect of an appeal registered as Civil Appeal No. 29 of 2019 which was between CRDB Bank PLC (CRDB Bank) v. True Colour Limited (TCL) and James Vicent Mgaya (the Purchaser).
Key Points:
TCL had filed a suit in the High Court of Tanzania against CRDB Bank and others regarding the sale of mortgaged properties which had a forced sale value of over Tshs 1.9 Billion. The said properties had been mortgaged by TCL to CRDB Bank to secure a loan. TCL defaulted on its payments, and the mortgaged properties were sold by auction at the price of Tshs.700 Million less than its forced sale value of over Tshs 1.9 Billion.
In the suit, TCL sought an order for nullification of the sale of the mortgaged properties and in the alternative, to be relieved from liability to pay the loan balance (the remaining balance from Tshs 1.9 Billion after deducting Tshs700 Million).
The High Court of Tanzania dismissed the claim for nullification of sale for want of proof, and further, on the alternative claim, it discharged TCL from further liability for the reason that CRDB Bank had assumed their own risk when they accepted a price of Tshs. 700 Million which was lesser than the secured amount.
CRDB Bank was aggrieved by the High Court's decision and lodged the appeal to the Court of Appeal of Tanzania on the ground that the High Court was wrong to relieve TCL from paying the balance of the loan while TCL had admitted her liability of more than Tshs.1.9 Billion towards CRDB Bank.
On the other hand, TCL submitted that since the purpose behind a secured loan is to ensure that the same is recoverable, CRDB Bank assumed its own risk by selling the mortgaged properties at a low value than the total liability owed. TCL also relied on conflicting decisions of the High Court which held that a lender who sells a mortgaged property at a price less than the loan amount should blame themselves for accepting an inferior security and cannot be allowed to pursue the balance against the borrower.
TCL had filed a suit in the High Court of Tanzania against CRDB Bank and others regarding the sale of mortgaged properties which had a forced sale value of over Tshs 1.9 Billion. The said properties had been mortgaged by TCL to CRDB Bank to secure a loan. TCL defaulted on its payments, and the mortgaged properties were sold by auction at the price of Tshs.700 Million less than its forced sale value of over Tshs 1.9 Billion.
In the suit, TCL sought an order for nullification of the sale of the mortgaged properties and in the alternative, to be relieved from liability to pay the loan balance (the remaining balance from Tshs 1.9 Billion after deducting Tshs700 Million).
The High Court of Tanzania dismissed the claim for nullification of sale for want of proof, and further, on the alternative claim, it discharged TCL from further liability for the reason that CRDB Bank had assumed their own risk when they accepted a price of Tshs. 700 Million which was lesser than the secured amount.
CRDB Bank was aggrieved by the High Court's decision and lodged the appeal to the Court of Appeal of Tanzania on the ground that the High Court was wrong to relieve TCL from paying the balance of the loan while TCL had admitted her liability of more than Tshs.1.9 Billion towards CRDB Bank.
On the other hand, TCL submitted that since the purpose behind a secured loan is to ensure that the same is recoverable, CRDB Bank assumed its own risk by selling the mortgaged properties at a low value than the total liability owed. TCL also relied on conflicting decisions of the High Court which held that a lender who sells a mortgaged property at a price less than the loan amount should blame themselves for accepting an inferior security and cannot be allowed to pursue the balance against the borrower.
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