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ELRCDismissedChamber Summons dated 24th January 2025· [2025] KEELRC 1510 (KLR)

Ochola v Divine Homes Resort Ltd (Miscellaneous Application E003 of 2025) [2025] KEELRC 1510 (KLR)

High Court of Kenya
26 May 2025
NMNzioki wa Makau
1,325 words in judgment
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The bottom line

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The High Court in Kisumu dismissed a challenge to a Kshs. 750,000 instruction fee award, confirming courts rarely disturb a Taxing Master's costs decision.

What this practically means

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Executive summary

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This was a reference by way of chamber summons dated 24th January 2025 seeking to set aside or vary the Taxing Master's awards on items 1, 2, 3 and 4 of a Party and Party Bill of Costs dated 13th September 2024, to restrain or expunge the certificate of costs, and to order re-taxation before a different taxing master. The Applicant, an advocate, argued that the taxing master disregarded Schedule 6 paragraph 1(b) of the Advocates Remuneration Order, relied on outdated precedents, and awarded excessive instruction fees of Kshs. 750,000/- in a straightforward employment matter, contrary to the principle that costs should not confine justice to the wealthy. The Respondent, through its director Gabriel Wasonga Jabongo, maintained that the taxing master exercised her discretion judiciously, correctly assessed instruction fees on the value of the subject matter (Kshs. 2,870,000/-), and that the application was filed out of time without leave. The court, delivered at Kisumu on 26th May 2025 by Nzioki wa Makau, J, reaffirmed that interference with a taxing master's decision is permitted only on an error of principle or manifest excessiveness, and that quantum is the taxing master's domain. It held that the specialised nature of employment law justifies the range of costs awarded, found no exceptional circumstances, legal errors or misdirection, declined to address the timeliness challenge as academic, and dismissed the reference with costs to the Respondent.

Key legal issues

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01

Standard for interference with a Taxing Master's award

Holding

The Court defers to the Taxing Master on quantum and will interfere only on an error of principle or where the award is manifestly excessive.

Reasoning

The court applied the established principle that taxation of quantum is the taxing master's domain of expertise. It found that the discretion must be exercised judiciously, not whimsically or capriciously, and that no such misdirection was shown here. The employment character of the underlying suit does not, of itself, render the matter uncomplicated.

p. 3
02

Whether instruction fees of Kshs. 750,000/- for an employment matter were excessive

Holding

The award was reasonable; employment law is a specialised area and the costs awarded were within the permissible range.

Reasoning

The court held that the fact the matter was an employment suit does not detract from the complexities of a legal brief. Being a specialised area of law, costs in the range issued were appropriate, consistent with the KANU National Elections Board dictum on the taxing master's discretion.

p. 3

Legal principles established

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  • A court will not interfere with a Taxing Master's decision unless it is based on an error of principle or is manifestly excessive; quantum is the province of the taxing master.
  • The discretion to determine what costs have been necessarily and properly incurred belongs to the Taxing Master, to be exercised judicially and on sound principles.

Court orders

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  1. 1.The reference contained in the chamber summons is dismissed
  2. 2.Costs of the application awarded to the Respondent
Jurisdiction invoked
Reference under Paragraph 11 of the Advocates Remuneration Order

Key timeline

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Practical implications

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Frequently asked questions

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Cite this brief

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Cite this brief

Caselaw, "Ochola v Divine Homes Resort Ltd (Miscellaneous Application E003 of 2025) [2025] KEELRC 1510 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). Chamber Summons dated 24th January 2025. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelrc/2025/1510/eng@2025-05-26

Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.