George Owino Odhiambo & 13 others v Kenya Railways Corporation & another [2022] KEELC 2117 (KLR)
The bottom line
#A Nakuru court refused to forgive a missed deadline for challenging taxed legal costs, because the applicants offered no explanation for the delay.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Extension of time for filing a reference against a taxation ruling
Refused; the applicants failed to explain the delay in filing the notice of objection and reference and gave no basis for the court to exercise its discretion
The ruling of the Deputy Registrar of 9th December 2020 contained reasons for the taxation, so no further reasons needed to be requested. The notice of objection was filed over two months after the ruling with no explanation. The applicant bears the burden of justifying extension of time under the Salat principles, and no basis was laid. The delay was inordinate and unexplained, so the discretion could not be exercised in the applicants' favour.
Whether the taxing master's discretion should be interfered with
No; the applicants did not demonstrate any manifest error or irregularity warranting interference
The applicants contended the taxation of instructions and getting-up fees was excessive and that public interest principles were not applied, but they filed no submissions and offered no reasoned basis for disturbing the taxing master's exercise of discretion. The court found the ruling contained reasons and the objection was itself hopelessly out of time, so the certificate of costs stood and the application failed.
Legal principles established
#- Extension of time is an equitable remedy available only to a deserving party, and the applicant bears the burden of laying a basis to the satisfaction of the court
- Where the taxing officer's ruling is comprehensive and contains reasons, there is no need for a party objecting to the taxation to seek further reasons before filing a reference
Court orders
#- 1.The chamber summons application dated 24th February 2021 and Notice of Objection of even date dismissed with costs to the 1st Respondent
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Inherent jurisdiction to extend time and review taxation under the Advocates Remuneration Order (Order 11(2))
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, "George Owino Odhiambo & 13 others v Kenya Railways Corporation & another [2022] KEELC 2117 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2022). Not stated in the extract. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2022/2117/eng@2022-01-20
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.