[2019] KEHC 1182 (KLR)

[2019] KEHC 1182 (KLR)

The court found that the applicant’s draft counter-claim was based on an unsigned joint venture agreement and failed to demonstrate how it was related to the respondent’s claim before the Chief Magistrate. The applicant did not properly invoke the court’s discretion for transfer, as the connection between the counter-claim and the original suit was not established. The respondent’s claim was within the Chief Magistrate’s pecuniary jurisdiction, and the applicant’s remedy, if any, lay in filing an independent suit. Therefore, there was no basis for transferring the suit to the High Court.

Citation
[2019] KEHC 1182 (KLR)
Parties
Applicant: Michael Ngotho Gitau; Respondent: Soojae Lee
Court
High Court
Court Station
High Court at Nairobi (Milimani Commercial Courts)
Jurisdiction
Kenya
Judgment Date
17 December 2019
Case Number
Miscellaneous Application 207 of 2019
Procedural Posture
Miscellaneous Application / Ruling on Application to Transfer Suit From Magistrate's Court to High Court
Outcome
application dismissed with costs
Judges
MM Kasango
Legal Topics
Transfer of Suits, Pecuniary Jurisdiction, Counter Claims, Magistrates Court Jurisdiction
Source Language
English
Civil Procedure Commercial and Corporate Transfer of Suits Pecuniary Jurisdiction Counter Claims Magistrates Court Jurisdiction

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Parties

Michael Ngotho Gitau

Applicant

Soojae Lee

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Miscellaneous Application / Ruling on Application to Transfer Suit From Magistrate's Court to High Court

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the High Court should transfer Milimani Chief Magistrate’s Court Case No 3840 of 2017 to itself due to a proposed counter-claim exceeding the magistrate's pecuniary jurisdiction.
  2. 2 Whether the applicant's draft counter-claim is sufficiently related to the respondent's claim to warrant transfer of the suit.

Ratio Decidendi

The court found that the applicant’s draft counter-claim was based on an unsigned joint venture agreement and failed to demonstrate how it was related to the respondent’s claim before the Chief Magistrate. The applicant did not properly invoke the court’s discretion for transfer, as the connection between the counter-claim and the original suit was not established. The respondent’s claim was within the Chief Magistrate’s pecuniary jurisdiction, and the applicant’s remedy, if any, lay in filing an independent suit. Therefore, there was no basis for transferring the suit to the High Court.

Court Disposition

application dismissed with costs

Orders

  • The Notice of Motion dated 4th June 2019 is dismissed with costs to Soojae Lee.