wishing to out beat the legal system

 This is what happens when you think you are more smarter than the legal system.

Advertising firm loses Sh36m suit over prime space

By RICHARD MUNGUTI rmunguti@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted  Sunday, September 9  2012 at  19:19

In Summary

• Bid by Alliance Media to have Magnate Ventures pull down its structures near Museum Hill fails

An outdoor advertising company has lost a Sh36 million suit it had filed against a competitor.

Alliance Media (Kenya) Ltd, which was a tenant in a property associated with businessman Kamlesh Pattni, had urged the High Court to direct Magnate Ventures Ltd to pull down structures it had erected near the International Casino, Nairobi.

The company claimed that it had the sole right to place its adverts on the land since it had leased it, and had put up advertisements for clients from Azarel Investments.

As a result, the two companies urged the court to order Magnate Ventures and City Council of Nairobi (NCC) to pay Sh36 million in damages for loss of business.

But in a swift turn of events, Justice Majanja struck out the case, saying there was a duplication of suits.

He ruled that the two companies failed to disclose that “they had lodged similar suits seeking similar action — an abuse of the court process.”

The judge said Alliance Media had failed to disclose fully it had started earlier cases seeking similar action.

“An analysis of the facts of the cases filed in the surbordinate court and the present cases filed in the High Court revolve around the construction of advertising billboards by Magnate Ventures near Museum Hill,” said Judge Majanja.

He said Magnate Ventures had been permitted to put up its billboards by the ministry of Roads on February 12, 2010. The City Council approved the same. Therefore, the judge said, Alliance Media was not entitled to agitate for the same.

Litigated before

The judge agreed with lawyers Nelson Havi for Magnate Ventures and Titus Koceyo for NCC that “the case had been litigated before, involving the same parties.

In their case, Azarel and Alliance alleged they were incurring a monthly loss of Sh3 million and a compound annual loss of Sh36 million.

The plaintiff companies (Alliance/Azarel) had stated that Magnate Ventures had erected advertisement billboards on land belonging to Azarel without its authority.

Azarel stated that it had leased its premises to Alliance for purposes of putting up wall wraps and billboards.

Justice Majanja ordered Azarel and Alliance to pay costs of the case to Magnate Ventures and NCC.

Judge Majanja said he was informed by the plaintiffs lawyer M T Adala “ they were bound suffer damages, loss and expenses due to threatened and possible cancellations of advertisement contracts.”

Azarel, the judge heard would loose substantial revenue and rent as a result of illegal actions by Magnate and NCC.

Azarel and Alliance urged the court to order the defendants (Magnate and NCC) to remove the all the structures constructed infront of the International Casino situate around the former Musseum Hill Roundabout.

After finding that the same issues had been canvassed before the judge did not hesitate but “struck out the case lodged by Azarel and Alliance against Magnate and NCC. He dismissed it with costs.”

Justice Majanja ordered plaintiffs to pay costs of the case to the defendants.