United Millers Limited & another v Silali Joseph Juma & another [2020] eKLR Case Summary

Court
Select CourtName
Category
Civil
Judge(s)
H. K. Chemitei
Judgment Date
October 27, 2020
Country
Kenya
Document Type
PDF
Number of Pages
3

Case Brief: United Millers Limited & another v Silali Joseph Juma & another [2020] eKLR


1. Case Information:
- Name of the Case: United Millers Limited & Dennis Cheruiyot Bett v. Silali Joseph Juma & Richard Barasa Wambacha
- Case Number: Miscellaneous Civil Applications Nos. 18 & 19 of 2020 (Consolidated)
- Court: High Court of Kenya at Kitale
- Date Delivered: 27th October 2020
- Category of Law: Civil
- Judge(s): H. K. Chemitei
- Country: Kenya

2. Questions Presented:
The central legal issues the court must resolve include whether the Applicants should be granted leave to file an appeal out of time regarding the judgment of the lower court and whether a stay of execution should be granted pending the determination of the appeal.

3. Facts of the Case:
The Applicants, United Millers Limited and Dennis Cheruiyot Bett, were defendants in a lower court case (Kitale CMCC 23 of 2018) where the Respondents, Silali Joseph Juma and Richard Barasa Wambacha, were plaintiffs. The Applicants were unaware of the judgment delivered by the trial court on 23rd April 2020 due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, which hindered their ability to communicate with their lawyers. They later discovered the judgment without prior notification.

4. Procedural History:
The Applicants filed an unopposed application on 30th July 2020 seeking permission to appeal out of time. The Respondents did not oppose the application through any formal means. The court considered the circumstances surrounding the Applicants' lack of notice regarding the judgment and found the grounds raised by the Applicants to be plausible.

5. Analysis:
- Rules: The court considered the procedural rules regarding appeals and the necessity of timely filing in civil cases, particularly in the context of unusual circumstances like the Covid-19 pandemic.
- Case Law: While no specific case law was cited in the ruling, the court's decision implicitly relates to principles established in prior cases regarding the granting of extensions for filing appeals and the discretion of courts to allow late filings under reasonable circumstances.
- Application: The court applied the relevant rules to the facts at hand, recognizing the Applicants' plausible explanation for their failure to file a timely appeal. The court concluded that the Applicants deserved the opportunity to appeal and granted them a 14-day period to file their appeal, along with a stay of execution against them pending the appeal's determination.

6. Conclusion:
The court granted the Applicants leave to file their appeal out of time and issued a stay of execution against them pending the appeal's determination. This decision underscores the court's willingness to accommodate litigants facing extraordinary circumstances that impede their ability to comply with procedural timelines.

7. Dissent:
There are no dissenting opinions noted in this case, as the application was unopposed, and the court's ruling was unanimous.

8. Summary:
The High Court of Kenya at Kitale ruled in favor of United Millers Limited and Dennis Cheruiyot Bett, allowing them to file an appeal out of time regarding a prior judgment and granting a stay of execution pending the appeal. The case illustrates the court's flexibility in addressing procedural issues in light of unforeseen circumstances, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, which affected the Applicants' ability to respond timely to the judgment.

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