BY SAM ALFAN.
Ten customers of Invesco Insurance Company has sued the firm for refusing to pay them Sh 9 million as directed by a Embu Law courts last year.
Through lawyer Morris Mugendi , they wants the High Court commercial division in Nairobi to compel the directors of the insurance firm to personally to pay them.
“The company has failed to honour its obligation to pay the full decretal sums and the costs as ordered by the court,’ says the petitioners.
They also wants Invesco Insurance Company be liquidated under supervision of the official receiver and liquator subsequently be wounded up.
They are further seeking directors of the company be ordered to personally satisfy such liabilities of the companies as shall remain outstanding and owing after liquidation of the company.
The ten customers were awarded the millions by the court after the judgement was entered against the insurance company on August 23, September 11 and March 26, 2019 respectively.
Principal Magistrate Samuel Mutai directed Invesco Insurance Company to pay Saleisio Kinyua Njagi, Gregory Mwaniki Karunga, Alisa Njeri, Jackleah Wangari , Nyaga Nthia, Alice Kageni ,Emmaculate Wanjiru, Juliet Muthoni, Venessa Kambi and Nancy Muthomi a total sum if Sh 9,007,570.50 plus costs and interests.
According to affidavit by Saleisio Kinyua Njagi, On May 31,2018 petitioners instituted declaratory suits (civil cases numbers 108 of 2018, 107 of 2018, 109 of 2018 among others) against the company for payment to them of decretal sums in the primary suits against the respondent’s insured awarded to them as judgement in the Embu Law Courts.
“As at the date of this petition, it has failed and refused to pay or make a reasonable payments of the decretal sums since the date of the decree as well as the statutory notice dated April 2,2019”, says lawyer Mugendi.
They said Invesco has before issued them with cheques that it knew would not be honored and which were indeed not honored due to insufficient funds.
Mugendi clams his clients their attempts to realize the decretal sum by inter-alia taking out execution proceedings and warrants of attachment and sale of the company’s movable property have all come to naught as the auctioneers have returned the warrants unexecuted and to date , the decree remain unsettled and continues to acrue interests.
“Nothing that the debt arose from the judgement entered by courts. I believe the company made or ought to have sufficient provision for payments to the petitioners,” added Lawyer Mugendi.
They believe the company’s assets are capable of liquidating the decretal sum in full particularly as the same comprise amounts that were contracted for well in the knowledge that they would become due and payable within specified timelines.
Further they say that it was clear that the company is either unable to pay its debt to them or is not willing to do so. “It is in the circumstances fair and just that the company be would up to facilitate inter-alia liquidation of its assets to pay the petitioners debt.
They says despite several demands , including insolvency the statutory notice dated April 2, 2019 and received on April 9,2019 refused or neglected to pay the decretal sum.
Customers says the creditor does not hold any security in respect of the debt claimed by the demand that would be sufficient to satisfy the full debt or at all.
“The debtor does not have a counterclaim, self-off or cross-demand against the creditor which equals or exceeds the amount of the debt or debts specified in the statutory demand”, says petitioners in the court documents.
The case will be heard on September 19,2019.