JACARANDA HOTEL LIMITED vs WILDLIFE LODGES LIMITED [1999] KECA 133 (KLR)
The bottom line
#Kenya's Court of Appeal confirmed that a wrongly dated Notice of Appeal cannot be fixed — the entire appeal collapses.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Questions the Court framed
#The issues the Court set itself to decide, in its own words.
- 1.Whether an appeal founded on a Notice of Appeal that is wrongly dated, being a primary document not capable of amendment, is competent
Key legal issues
#Whether an appeal based on a wrongly dated Notice of Appeal can stand
The appeal is incompetent and fatally defective because the Notice of Appeal, a primary document, is wrongly dated and cannot be amended; the appeal is struck out.
Counsel for the appellant himself brought the defect to the court's attention and conceded that a Notice of Appeal is a primary document incapable of amendment. The court agreed that the invalidity of the primary document renders the appeal incompetent. Having struck out the appeal, the court also vacated the earlier consolidation order so that the companion appeal, C.A. No. 242/99, proceeds separately.
Legal principles established
#- A Notice of Appeal is a primary document which is not capable of amendment; a wrongly dated Notice of Appeal is invalid and renders the appeal incompetent and fatally defective.
Court orders
#- 1.The appeal is fatally defective and is ordered struck out
- 2.No order as to costs
- 3.The earlier order for consolidation is vacated
- 4.Civil Appeal No. 242 of 1999 shall be heard separately
The bench
#One judgment of the whole court — no separate or dissenting opinions.
- On appeal from
- High Court of Kenya at Nairobi
- H.C.C.C. No. 839 of 1999
- Jurisdiction invoked
- Appeal to the Court of Appeal under the Constitution of Kenya and the Appellate Jurisdiction Act (not expressly stated in the judgment)
Relief refused
#Continuation of the appeal by the appellant
The Notice of Appeal is wrongly dated and, being a primary document incapable of amendment, is invalid, rendering the appeal incompetent
Costs
No order as to costs - each party to bear their own costs
Quotable passages
#Verbatim from the judgment, each located to the page it appears on in the official PDF — so these can be cited and checked directly.
He admits that, it being a primary document, it is not capable of being amended; and, consequently it being invalid, the appeal is incompetent. We agree.
The appeal therefore is fatally defective and is ordered struck out. We make no order as to costs.
It follows therefore that the order for consolidation made earlier on cannot stand and is vacated. C.A. No. 242/99 shall be heard separately.
Issues in the judgment
#The costs order is expressed as 'We make no order as to costs', which is recorded here as each party bearing their own costs; the judgment does not use that exact phrase.
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "JACARANDA HOTEL LIMITED vs WILDLIFE LODGES LIMITED [1999] KECA 133 (KLR)", Case Analysis (1999). Civil Appeal No. 228 of 1999. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keca/1999/133/eng@1999-12-01
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.