Darley Butler & Co. Ltd v Anoos and Others – sllr 2008 volume 2 page 149

In Darley Butler & Co. Ltd. v. Anoos and others, the court addressed whether a joint action against multiple defendants could validly proceed when one defendant was deceased at the time of institution of the suit. It was held that a suit does not become a nullity merely because one defendant, sued jointly and severally, was deceased at the outset. The court reaffirmed the principle that substitution may only be effected for living parties, and a representative for a defendant deceased at the commencement cannot be substituted. The decision relied on established legal authorities and precedents, emphasizing that actions in such instances may go forward against surviving defendants without requiring substitution for a party deceased before the institution of proceedings.

Chandra Ekanayake J