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ELCStruck OutChamber Summons dated 9th March 2026 (Reference from Nairobi ELC Miscellaneous Application No. E375 of 2025)· [2026] KEELC 4692 (KLR)
Rene & Hans Advocates LLP v Dim Agencies Ltd (Environment and Land Civil Miscellaneous Application E070 of 2026) [2026] KEELC 4692 (KLR)
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·~4 min to read original · ~4 min briefThe bottom line
#A law firm's challenge to a fee taxation was struck out purely because it was filed in a fresh case instead of the original file.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#The applicant advocate, Rene & Hans Advocates LLP, filed a chamber summons dated 9th March 2026 under Paragraph 11 of the Advocates Remuneration Order seeking to set aside the taxing master's ruling of 3rd March 2026 in Nairobi ELC Miscellaneous Application No. E375 of 2025, which taxed an advocate-client bill of costs arising from ELC Suit No. E055 of 2021 (Dim Agencies Limited v Kenya Airports Authority). The applicant contended that the taxing master erred in computing instruction fees on Kshs.20,000,000/- (the damages awarded in the suit) instead of the value of the subject matter, LR No. 9042/617, said to be Kshs.410,000,000/- per a valuation report produced in evidence, and in ignoring the applicant's submissions and further affidavit. The respondent, through its director Ashok Labhshanker Doshi, supported the taxation, arguing that once judgment was entered, the value of the subject matter was conclusively the adjudged award of Kshs.20,000,000/-. No written submissions were filed by either party despite directions. The court did not reach the merits of the taxation dispute. Instead, it held that the reference should have been filed within ELC Miscellaneous Application No. E375 of 2025, the file from which the impugned ruling arose, rather than in a fresh miscellaneous application, so as to avoid multiplicity of suits and preserve the original record. The chamber summons was struck out, with leave to file the reference in the correct file. No costs order was made.
Key legal issues
#01
Whether a reference against a taxing master's decision may be brought in a fresh miscellaneous application
Holding
It may not; the reference must be filed in the file from which the impugned ruling arose, and a reference filed otherwise is improperly before the court
Reasoning
The court noted the impugned ruling arose from miscellaneous application no. E375 of 2025, but the applicant instituted a brand new file for the reference. Filing within the same file avoids multiplicity of suits and gives the court the proceedings and other materials in the original record. Accordingly, the chamber summons was struck out with liberty to file in the correct file.
p. 3
Legal principles established
#- A reference under Paragraph 11 of the Advocates Remuneration Order against a taxing master's ruling should be filed in the same miscellaneous application file in which the ruling arose, to avoid multiplicity of suits and preserve the file's record
Court orders
#- 1.The chamber summons dated 9th March 2026 is struck out
- 2.The applicant to file the reference in miscellaneous application no. E375 of 2025
- On appeal from
- Environment and Land Court (Deputy Registrar / Taxing Master)
- ELC Miscellaneous Application No. E375 of 2025
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Paragraph 11 of the Advocates Remuneration Order (reference against a taxing master's decision)
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Rene & Hans Advocates LLP v Dim Agencies Ltd (Environment and Land Civil Miscellaneous Application E070 of 2026) [2026] KEELC 4692 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2026). Chamber Summons dated 9th March 2026 (Reference from Nairobi ELC Miscellaneous Application No. E375 of 2025). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2026/4692/eng@2026-07-22
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.