Imed Healthcare Limited v Kenya Reinsurance Corporation Limited [2021] KEELC 4002 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenya's Environment and Land Court dismissed an appeal, confirming magistrates' courts cannot handle rent tribunal disputes reserved for the Environment and Land Court.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Jurisdiction of the Magistrate Court to grant interim measures of protection pending a BPRT reference
The Magistrate Court had no jurisdiction; the suit was a blatant abuse of process since the BPRT had already ruled the dispute outside its jurisdiction and that finding had not been set aside
The appellant's suit sought interim protection only pending a reference at the Tribunal. The Tribunal had on 28/5/2020 held the dispute outside its jurisdiction, and no material showed that ruling set aside. Inviting the Magistrate's Court to grant interim relief to return to a forum that had declined jurisdiction was abusive. The only court with unlimited original jurisdiction over Tribunal-reserved disputes is the Environment and Land Court, under Section 13 of the Environment and Land Court Act.
Whether striking out the suit was proper absent a specific prayer for striking out
Yes; once the Magistrate found lack of jurisdiction he was obligated to lay down his tools, which is done through striking out the suit regardless of the terms of the preliminary objection
The appellant argued the preliminary objection targeted only the application, not the whole suit. The court held that a finding of no jurisdiction compels the court to down tools, and striking out is the mechanism for doing so, whether or not the objection expressly sought striking out of the entire suit. No basis existed to fault the Magistrate on this account.
Res judicata under Section 7 of the Civil Procedure Act
The doctrine, anchored in Section 7, bars re-litigation of matters heard and finally decided by a competent court; the rationale is finality, economic use of court resources and stability of judgments
The court outlined the doctrine as jurisdictional, citing John Florence Maritime Services and Henderson v Henderson on bringing forward the whole case, and the rationale that litigation must end. The Magistrate's res judicata finding was not expressly disturbed; the dismissal rested on jurisdiction and the suit having been overtaken by events.
Mootness of the substantive suit
The suit had been overtaken by events: the Tribunal was operational again and the lease term had lapsed on 31/8/2020
The court observed that the need for interim protection pending resumption of Tribunal sittings no longer existed and the six-year lease had expired. This independently disposed of the appeal seeking reinstatement of the suit.
Legal principles established
#- Jurisdiction is conferred only by the Constitution or legislation; a court cannot arrogate to itself jurisdiction exceeding that conferred by law
- Where a court lacks jurisdiction it must lay down its tools, and laying down tools may be effected by striking out the suit even absent a specific prayer for striking out in the preliminary objection
- Before granting an interim measure of protection pending determination of a dispute elsewhere, a court must satisfy itself that there is a live dispute before a competent adjudicatory body and that it has jurisdiction over the plea for interim relief
Court orders
#- 1.The appeal is dismissed
- 2.Parties shall bear their respective costs of this appeal and the suit in the Magistrate Court
- On appeal from
- Chief Magistrate's Court at Milimani
- Nairobi CMCCC No E4010 of 2020
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Appellate supervisory jurisdiction of the Environment and Land Court over matters reserved for the Business Premises Rent Tribunal; Section 13 of the Environment and Land Court Act invoked as conferring unlimited original jurisdiction over such disputes
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Later judgments citing this (1)
#Judgments in the corpus that rely on this one. Where the Court said how it treated the authority, that is shown.
Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Imed Healthcare Limited v Kenya Reinsurance Corporation Limited [2021] KEELC 4002 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2021). Nairobi CMCCC No E4010 of 2020 (appeal against ruling of 10/9/2020). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2021/4002/eng@2021-03-10
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.