Susan Nyanchama Ombati v Standard Chartered Bank Ltd [2014] KEELRC 664 (KLR)
The bottom line
#What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether the Industrial Court can relieve a litigant from the expiry of the Section 90 limitation period where suit was filed within time but in a court without jurisdiction
Yes - the Court deemed time to have stopped running between the filing and withdrawal of the High Court suit, treating the error as an innocent misapprehension of jurisdiction that should not defeat substantive justice.
The Applicant filed suit within four months of termination, at the wrong forum due to her Advocate's misapprehension of rapidly changing jurisdictional law. The Industrial Court has routinely received employment disputes transferred from the High Court, so the suit could equally have been transferred. The Respondent only raised the jurisdiction objection after three years had lapsed. Section 12 of the Industrial Court Act empowers the Court to grant any appropriate relief despite the absence of an Originating Summons provision in the Rules.
Legal principles established
#- Limitation under Section 90 is aimed at barring dilatory claimants, not those who institute proceedings in a court lacking jurisdiction
- Proceedings filed in a court without jurisdiction, though in error, constitute action sufficient to interrupt the running of limitation time
Court orders
#- 1.The time between the date the High Court Suit was filed and withdrawn by the Applicant shall, for the purpose of the intended Claim at the Industrial Court, be deemed to have stopped running
- 2.The Applicant may file and serve her Statement of Claim within 2 years and 8 months from the date she withdrew her Suit at the High Court
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Section 12 of the Industrial Court Act 2011
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Susan Nyanchama Ombati v Standard Chartered Bank Ltd [2014] KEELRC 664 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2014). Misc Application No 9 of 2014. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2014/664/eng@2014-02-18
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.