Sandalwood Lenana Limited v Chief Executive, Nairobi County & 3 others [2019] KEELC 4796 (KLR)
The bottom line
#A Kenyan court cannot 'stay' a ruling that simply dismissed an application—the losing party must instead seek an injunction or other positive relief to pause action.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether a negative order dismissing an injunction application can be stayed pending appeal
No; the orders of 13th October, 2017 dismissed the plaintiff's injunction application and did no more, and are incapable of being stayed.
The court traced the orders sought to be stayed to its earlier ruling which dismissed the plaintiff's application for injunction. Since dismissal of an application imposes no obligation on any party and confers nothing capable of execution, save costs, there is nothing before the court capable of a stay under Order 42 Rule 6. The court adopted the reasoning in Kanwal Sarjit Singh Dhiman v Keshavji Jivraj Shah and Raymond M. Omboga v Austine Pyan Maranga.
Legal principles established
#- An order that merely dismisses an application and requires no party to do or refrain from doing anything is a negative order incapable of execution and therefore incapable of being stayed.
Court orders
#- 1.The plaintiff's application for stay of execution dated 9th November, 2017 is dismissed
- 2.Costs of the application to the 4th defendant
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Order 42 Rule 6 of the Civil Procedure Rules (invoked by the parties regarding stay pending appeal)
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Sandalwood Lenana Limited v Chief Executive, Nairobi County & 3 others [2019] KEELC 4796 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2019). Not stated in the extract (ruling on Notice of Motion dated 9th November, 2017). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2019/4796/eng@2019-01-17
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.