Prime Alms Limited v Registrar of Titles (Environment and Land Miscellaneous Application 5 of 2020) [2021] KEELC 1608 (KLR)
The bottom line
#A Kenyan court threw out a land title challenge because the buyer filed a new case instead of resolving it in an existing case over the same land.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether the judicial review application was sub judice and an abuse of the court process
The application was dismissed as an abuse of process because the ownership of the suit property is pending determination in Machakos ELC No. 55 of 2017 and the parties to that suit were not joined as interested parties
The court found that the applicant acknowledged the pending suit over the same parcel but filed the judicial review application without joining the defendants in that suit or the third-party transferee. Since ownership of the property falls to be determined in the pending suit, remedies concerning the impugned transfer, including declaratory orders and cancellation of title, should be sought in that suit. The dispute is private in nature, and a separate suit was unnecessary, amounted to forum shopping, and was not meritorious.
Legal principles established
#- Where a suit over the same property is pending, a party must pursue remedies in that suit rather than file a separate suit without joining the parties to the pending suit
Court orders
#- 1.The Notice of Motion dated 19th October, 2020 is dismissed with costs
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Order 53, Rule 3 of the Civil Procedure Rules and the Law Reform Act; Section 7 of the Fair Administrative Action Act
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Prime Alms Limited v Registrar of Titles (Environment and Land Miscellaneous Application 5 of 2020) [2021] KEELC 1608 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2021). Judicial Review Miscellaneous Application (Notice of Motion dated 19th October, 2020). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2021/1608/eng@2021-10-08
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.