[2015] KEHC 1401 (KLR)

[2015] KEHC 1401 (KLR)

The court found that the Defendant's defence of justification and fair comment was not properly laid, as it was unsupported by any affidavit or witness statement to counter the Plaintiff's sworn averments. The Plaintiff's factual claims of inaccuracy and defamation remained uncontroverted. The court held that the...

Source-derived case information.

Citation
[2015] KEHC 1401 (KLR)
Parties
Plaintiff: W M M; Defendant: The Standard Group Limited
Court
High Court
Court Station
High Court at Nairobi (Milimani Commercial Courts)
Jurisdiction
Kenya
Judgment Date
23 October 2015
Case Number
Civil Suit 160 of 2015
Procedural Posture
Civil Suit / Ruling on Motion to Strike Out Defence
Outcome
Plaintiff's motion allowed; Defendant's defence struck out; suit to proceed to formal proof.
Judges
JK Sergon
Legal Topics
Defamation, Libel, Striking Out Pleadings, Justification Defence, Fair Comment, Summary Judgment
Source Language
english
Tort Law Civil Procedure Defamation Libel Striking Out Pleadings Justification Defence Fair Comment Summary Judgment

Source-derived case record

Summary, issues, holding and outcome

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Parties

W M M

Plaintiff

The Standard Group Limited

Defendant

Procedural Posture

Civil Suit / Ruling on Motion to Strike Out Defence

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the Defendant's defence of justification and fair comment raises triable issues or is frivolous and should be struck out.
  2. 2 Whether the Plaintiff is entitled to have the defence struck out and the matter set down for formal proof.

Ratio Decidendi

The court found that the Defendant's defence of justification and fair comment was not properly laid, as it was unsupported by any affidavit or witness statement to counter the Plaintiff's sworn averments. The Plaintiff's factual claims of inaccuracy and defamation remained uncontroverted. The court held that the defences raised by the Defendant were frivolous and lacked seriousness, and that the Defendant's mere filing of grounds of opposition without substantive evidence was insufficient. Consequently, the court exercised its discretion to strike out the defence under Order 2 rule 15(1) of the Civil Procedure Rules, finding that there were no triable issues and that the Plaintiff was...

Court Disposition

Plaintiff's motion allowed; Defendant's defence struck out; suit to proceed to formal proof.

Orders

  • The Defendant's defence dated 2nd June 2015 and filed on 3rd June 2015 is struck out with costs to the Plaintiff.
  • The suit is to be set down for formal proof.