Stephen Macharia v Security Group Kenya Limited [2019] KEELRC 269 (KLR)
The bottom line
#A Kenyan employment court ruled that settling through mediation doesn't erase winners, but the employer's prompt payment reduced the costs awarded to Kshs 70,000.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Entitlement to costs after a mediation agreement leaving costs to the Court
The claimant was a successful litigant but the mediation and prompt payment mitigated the award; partial costs of Kshs. 70,000.00 awarded
The court accepted that costs follow the event under section 27 of the Civil Procedure Act and that settlement by consent does not automatically mean there is no successful party. It adopted Gikonyo J's approach that a party may still be successful where the result of the entire litigation, including negotiations culminating in a consent, resolves the claim in his favour. The mediation process and prompt payment of the agreed sum were treated as serious mitigating factors justifying only partial costs.
Whether a consent agreement means there are no winners or losers
No - consent settlement is one of the factors the court considers; the successful party is declared so by the court after looking at the result of the entire litigation
The respondent relied on authority that a consent order leaves no losers or winners, but the court preferred Gikonyo J's reasoning in Morgan Air Cargo that a party does not cease to be successful merely because he met little or no contest, and that settlement should be one factor among others in deciding costs. The court further distinguished consents silent on costs from those expressly referring costs to the court.
Legal principles established
#- Whether costs will be awarded pursuant to a consent order depends on the justice of the individual case, including the parties' intention as expressed or inferred from the wording of the consent
- A party who obtains resolution of his cause of action in his favour through settlement may be a successful litigant, and settlement is a factor in deciding costs
Court orders
#- 1.The respondent to pay partial costs of the suit fixed at Kshs. 70,000.00 as partial reasonable reimbursements incurred by the claimant
- 2.Payment to be made by 20.12.2019 failing which interest is payable at Court rates from the date of the ruling till full payment
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Section 12(4) of the Employment and Labour Relations Court Act, 2011 and Rule 29 of the Employment and Labour Relations Court (Procedure) Rules, 2016
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Stephen Macharia v Security Group Kenya Limited [2019] KEELRC 269 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2019). Not stated in judgment. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2019/269/eng@2019-11-22
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.