Monday, April 21, 2008

Kenya: Ruling - Poll Petitioners Must Do Homework

All Africa - Nyakundi Nyamboga

Nairobi — The petitioner lost to the first respondent in the December 27 parliamentary elections.

He petitioned against the results on January 24, complaining of the conduct of the Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK) and its official, Mr Andrew Rianga.

The first respondent, the Assistant minister, Dr Wilfred Machage, then filed this application on February 28 for orders that the petition be struck off. He said the petition was defective and invalid.

Through lawyers, Mr Tom Kajwang' and Mr Ochillo Ayacko, the petitioner's application was on the ground that he was not served with the petition within the period prescribed by law.

Mr Mwita Maroa opposed the application on the grounds that Machage had accepted service of the petition "personally" through his personal secretary.

He argued that the documents presented to court showed the assistant minister was served as provided for in law on January 25 at his office at Co-operative House, Nairobi.

Machage's personal secretary allegedly made it clear that she was authorised to receive the document on his behalf, but in an affidavit, Maroa claims that she refused to sign a copy of the petition.

The petitioner further claimed that as a precautionary measure, he still had to serve Machage by way of publication in the Kenya Gazette after the assistant minister "perfected the art of evading service"...

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Kenya: Ruling - Poll Petitioners Must Do Homework


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Friday, April 18, 2008

RIAA sued homeless man

The Inquirer - Egan Orion

Left summons at old address

RIAA LAWYERS narrowly avoided a court sanction in a case where they sued a homeless man.

In Warner v. Berry, the RIAA sued a man who was then staying in a homeless shelter. Apparently undeterred in the least by the defendant's impecunious circumstances, big music's legal furies unleashed a minion to track the man down and serve him with a summons and complaint. The sequence of events that ensued went thusly:

On April 9, 2007, the mafiaa's process server posted a copy of the summons and complaint on the door of the defendant's former apartment, even though the plaintiffs knew that it was not his then current address.

On April 17, 2007, the recording industry plaintiffs asked for a postponement of a scheduled conference because their "attempts at service at Defendant's last-known address were unsuccessful." They requested a 60 day adjournment for "conducting a thorough address investigation to locate a current address."

On April 25, 2007, the plaintiffs' process server executed an affidavit of service, declaring that on April 9, 2007, at 3:50 p.m., she had "served" the summons by affixing one copy "in a conspicuous place on the property known as: 1713 Adee Ave Apt. 1 Bronx, N.Y. 10469" -- an address where they knew at the time that the defendant was no longer in residence...

Read the rest of the story:
RIAA sued homeless man

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