[2015] KEHC 3426 (KLR)

[2015] KEHC 3426 (KLR)

The court held that the Constituencies Development Fund Act, 2013, was still operational at the time of the suit, as the declaration of unconstitutionality had been suspended for twelve months. The Act provides a mandatory dispute resolution mechanism requiring civil disputes to be referred to the Board and, if...

Source-derived case information.

Citation
[2015] KEHC 3426 (KLR)
Parties
Plaintiff: Ohulo Building Construction Ltd; Defendant: Constituency Development Fund Board
Court
High Court
Court Station
High Court at Busia
Jurisdiction
Kenya
Judgment Date
16 June 2015
Case Number
Civil Case 2 of 2014
Procedural Posture
Civil Suit / Ruling on Notice of Motion to Strike Out Plaint for Lack of Jurisdiction
Outcome
suit struck out for want of jurisdiction; costs to the defendant
Legal Topics
Jurisdiction, Arbitration Clauses, Statutory Dispute Resolution, Contractual Disputes
Source Language
english
Civil Procedure Commercial and Corporate Jurisdiction Arbitration Clauses Statutory Dispute Resolution Contractual Disputes

Source-derived case record

Summary, issues, holding and outcome

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Parties

Ohulo Building Construction Ltd

Plaintiff

Constituency Development Fund Board

Defendant

Procedural Posture

Civil Suit / Ruling on Notice of Motion to Strike Out Plaint for Lack of Jurisdiction

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the High Court has jurisdiction to hear the suit before exhaustion of statutory dispute resolution mechanisms under the Constituencies Development Fund Act, 2013.
  2. 2 Whether the plaintiff complied with the mandatory arbitration and referral steps under section 49 of the Act before filing suit.
  3. 3 Whether the suit is premature for failure to exhaust statutory remedies.

Ratio Decidendi

The court held that the Constituencies Development Fund Act, 2013, was still operational at the time of the suit, as the declaration of unconstitutionality had been suspended for twelve months. The Act provides a mandatory dispute resolution mechanism requiring civil disputes to be referred to the Board and, if necessary, to arbitration before approaching the court. The plaintiff, though it issued notices to the Board and invited the defendant to appoint arbitrators, failed to take the further step of requesting the Cabinet Secretary to appoint an arbitrator when the Board did not respond. The court found that the plaintiff misconstrued the statutory process and that the suit was...

Court Disposition

suit struck out for want of jurisdiction; costs to the defendant

Orders

  • The entire suit is struck out with costs to the defendant.