Johnson Lisamula Murila v Presbyterian Church Hospital & another [2020] KEELRC 310 (KLR)
The bottom line
#What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether the Respondents' Motion was barred by res judicata
Yes. The questions raised in the Motion were already the subject of determination in the Ruling dated 22 September 2017 by a differently constituted Judge of the same Court, and any grievance with that Ruling lies on appeal, not in a fresh application.
The Court noted that a Ruling dated 22 September 2017, delivered by another Judge of this Court, had already determined that the Chief Magistrates Court did not fully strike out the suit but only struck out a wrongly enjoined party, and that the transfer to the Employment and Labour Relations Court was proper. The Respondents' complaints were therefore res judicata. To disturb that Ruling would amount to sitting on appeal over a decision of a Judge of concurrent jurisdiction, which the Court declined to do.
Whether the transferred suit was a nullity because the lower court allegedly struck it out
No. Per the earlier Ruling of 22 September 2017, the lower court only struck out a wrongly enjoined party and permitted amendment and joinder of the correct party.
The Respondents relied on Phoenix E.A. Assurance v S.M. Thiga to argue the suit was a nullity and untransferable. The Court held this question was settled by the 22 September 2017 Ruling, which found the Magistrates Court struck out only a wrong party and that the amendment substituting a new party was proper under Order 8(3)(4) of the Civil Procedure Rules, and that the transfer to this Court was within its exclusive jurisdiction over employment matters.
Legal principles established
#- Questions already determined by a Judge of the same court, differently constituted, are res judicata; a Judge of concurrent jurisdiction cannot sit on appeal over a decision of another Judge of that court.
Court orders
#- 1.The Motion dated 2 December 2019 seeking to strike out the Memorandum of Claim is dismissed
- 2.Costs of the Motion to the Claimant
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Exclusive jurisdiction of the Employment and Labour Relations Court over employment and labour relations matters under the Constitution (Article 162(2)/165(5)(b) context as invoked in the earlier Ruling)
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Johnson Lisamula Murila v Presbyterian Church Hospital & another [2020] KEELRC 310 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2020). Cause No. 1695 of 2016 (Originally Nairobi Chief Magistrates Court Civil Case No. 7973 of 2010). Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2020/310/eng@2020-10-23
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.