Tracom Ltd & another v Adan (Civil Appeal 192 of 2006) [2016] KECA 150 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenya's Court of Appeal ruled that interest on damages runs from the date damages were assessed, not from when the lawsuit was filed.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Commencement date of interest on the award for future medical expenses (Shs.880,000/=)
Interest runs from the date of assessment of damages by the Court of Appeal, 6th November 2009, not from the date of filing suit.
The Shs.880,000/= was computed by applying a 22-year multiplier to yearly medical expenses of Shs.40,000/=, i.e. it represents future expenditure. Applying interest from filing would inflate the award. The general principle is that interest compensates a plaintiff for being kept out of money due; a plaintiff who has paid medical expenses gets interest from the date of payment (Jefford v Gee). Since damages were assessed on 6th November 2009, that is the date from which interest applies.
Commencement date of interest on the total decretal sum of Shs.1,592,512.50 (item 4)
The same principle applies: interest runs from 6th November 2009, the date of assessment, notwithstanding that the bulk is general damages with an element of pre-appeal expenses.
The bulk of the sum is general damages, and the same principle governing the date of application of interest applies, although there is an element of expense incurred before the appeal's determination that reduced the original figure. The court accordingly directed that the sum carry interest from the date of assessment on 6th November 2009.
Jurisdiction of a single judge to settle the terms of the appellate order
The single judge had jurisdiction: where the presiding judge and the other judges who sat are unavailable, the order may be settled by such judge as the President of the Court may direct, which is what occurred.
Under rule 34(2)(d) the judge who presided over the appeal bench should settle the order where parties disagree. Failing him, a judge who sat may do so; failing all, a judge directed by the President. Waki JA, the only remaining judge who sat on the appeal, was out of the station, so the President directed the matter before the writer, who proceeded on the basis the matter was properly before him and he had jurisdiction.
Legal principles established
#- Interest is awardable to a plaintiff for being kept out of money which ought to have been paid to him, and the court has a general discretionary power to award interest; interest on damages runs from the date those damages were assessed, not from the date of filing suit where the award represents future or general damages.
- Interest should not be applied to an award of future medical expenses from the date of filing suit, because the sum relates to an expense to be incurred in the future and to do so would inflate and distort the award.
- Where parties fail to agree on the form of the appellate order, rule 34(2)(d) of the Court of Appeal Rules requires the judge who presided over the appeal bench to settle it; in his absence a judge who sat on the bench, and in their absence any judge directed by the President of the Court, may settle the order.
Court orders
#- 1.The draft order in item 1 shall show that interest at court rates on the award of Shs.880,000/= for future medical expenses shall run from 6th November 2009 (the date of assessment of damages by this Court)
- 2.As regards item 4 of the draft order, the sum of Shs.1,592,512.50 shall carry interest from the date of assessment on 6th November 2009
- 3.There shall be no order as to costs with regard to the appearance relating to this determination
- On appeal from
- High Court of Kenya
- Not stated in the judgment copy provided
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Rule 34(2)(d) of the Court of Appeal Rules - settlement of the form of the order by a judge of the court where the parties fail to agree and the judges who heard the appeal are unavailable, pursuant to a direction of the President of the Court
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Tracom Ltd & another v Adan (Civil Appeal 192 of 2006) [2016] KECA 150 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2016). Not stated in the judgment copy provided. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keca/2016/150/eng@2016-11-04
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.