A car dealer in Karen has been ordered by the Nairobi Small Claims Court to pay a City lawyer Ksh. 55,550 damages for breaching an August 2023 contract to sell a Mercedes Benz.
In addition, the court mandated that Crotons Motors reimburse attorney Shadrack Wambui for the litigation expenses and interest.
After receiving a Ksh. 200,000 deposit from Wambui, Crotons Motors Limited sold the Mercedes Benz to another buyer. This was considered double-dealing and a breach of the sale contract. Until the damages are fully paid, interest will be accrued on the money.
“The claim is therefore quantifiable as it was a loss emanating from a breach of contract which resulted in the cancellation of the same,” the court ruled.
Did you read this?
The court also observed that the lawyer and the car dealer had a contractual arrangement that had been fulfilled before its cancellation because no other buyer had acquired the mentioned vehicle.
Wambui testified in court that he paid for pricey, in-depth consultations with two Mercedes Benz experts and conducted background checks with the assistance of another independent car dealer at a significant cost for the service before depositing Ksh. 200,000 in the Croton Motors Equity bank account on August 5, 2023.
He says that after the parties reached a tripartite agreement, the Ksh. 1.7 million that was left over from the sale was supposed to be paid.
But eight hours later, he says he received a call from Croton Motors unilaterally canceling the sale, citing that a different buyer deposited the car through RTGS two minutes earlier.
“THAT at around 1900 hours the 1st Respondent reimbursed the Applicant the 200,000 shillings signifying the cancellation of the oral agreement for the sale ignoring that the applicant had incurred so many costs totaling 113,842 shillings being monies paid to the two experts engaged to offer their professional opinion sought to diagnose the vehicle, inspect it, and approve its fitness for purpose costs for the search and due diligence conducted prior to the making of the deposit made and transactional costs incurred by the applicant," reads court papers.
