[2019] KEHC 3551 (KLR)

[2019] KEHC 3551 (KLR)

The court found that although the defendant's defence was filed in the wrong division, it was in fact on record and had been served on the plaintiff's former advocates, who responded by filing a reply to defence and participated in pre-trial processes. The plaintiff's new advocates failed to familiarize themselves...

Source-derived case information.

Citation
[2019] KEHC 3551 (KLR)
Parties
Plaintiff: Environmental Solutions Ltd; Defendant: Maasai Mara University
Court
High Court
Court Station
High Court at Nairobi (Milimani Commercial Courts)
Jurisdiction
Kenya
Case Number
Civil Case 294 of 2015
Procedural Posture
Civil Case / Ruling on Application to Set Aside Default Judgment and for Stay of Execution
Outcome
Application to set aside default judgment granted; costs and auctioneer's fees to be borne by the plaintiff.
Legal Topics
Default Judgment, Setting Aside Judgment, Costs Award, Auctioneers Fees
Source Language
en
Civil Procedure Commercial and Corporate Default Judgment Setting Aside Judgment Costs Award Auctioneers Fees

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Summary, issues, holding and outcome

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Parties

Environmental Solutions Ltd

Plaintiff

Maasai Mara University

Defendant

Procedural Posture

Civil Case / Ruling on Application to Set Aside Default Judgment and for Stay of Execution

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the default judgment entered against the defendant should be set aside due to the existence of a defence on record.
  2. 2 Who should bear the costs of the application and the auctioneer's fees after the setting aside of the default judgment.

Ratio Decidendi

The court found that although the defendant's defence was filed in the wrong division, it was in fact on record and had been served on the plaintiff's former advocates, who responded by filing a reply to defence and participated in pre-trial processes. The plaintiff's new advocates failed to familiarize themselves with the case history, resulting in parallel proceedings: pursuing both execution of a default judgment and pre-trial processes. The court held that the default judgment was irregularly obtained due to the plaintiff's lack of diligence and misrepresentation to the Deputy Registrar. Consequently, the application to set aside the default judgment was granted. The court further...

Court Disposition

Application to set aside default judgment granted; costs and auctioneer's fees to be borne by the plaintiff.

Orders

  • The application filed on 29th June 2018 is granted as compromised by parties' consent.
  • Auctioneers fees and costs of the application shall be borne by the plaintiff.