A Nairobi court has ordered Standard Group PLC, the parent company of Kenya Television Network (KTN), to pay Ivory Media Limited, a subsidiary of Insignia Productions, KSh 20,202,864 for breaching television content licensing agreements relating to Junior and My Two Wives.
Senior Principal Magistrate Nyoike at the Milimani Commercial Magistrate Court found that Standard Group aired the programs but failed to honor payment according to the agreements.
Standard Group PLC Fails to Honor Agreement
Standard Group PLC signed a program license agreement with Ivory Media Limited on October 10, 2020, for the television series Junior, and a second agreement on January 1, 2021, covering My Two Wives.
Under the agreements, Ivory Media Limited was required to deliver four episodes of each program every month, together with promotional and synopsis videos. In return, Standard Group PLC agreed to pay license fees of KSh170,000 per episode for Junior and KSh168,000 plus VAT per episode for My Two Wives, payable quarterly within 90 days of invoicing.
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Ivory Media fulfilled its contractual obligations by producing and delivering the episodes that KTN aired, but Standard Group PLC failed to remit the agreed license fees within the agreed license period.
“Accordingly, I find and hold that valid and binding Program License Agreements existed between the Plaintiff and the Defendant in respect of JUNIOR and MY TWO WIVES, and that the Defendant breached its payment obligations thereunder,” the ruling read.
The production company told the court that repeated efforts to secure payment through negotiations and payment plans between 2021 and 2022 failed, leaving an outstanding balance of KSh13,525,320.
Court Rejects Standard Group’s Defense
In its defense, Standard Group PLC denied liability and argued that it was a “stranger” to the program license agreements. The media company challenged the existence of a valid contractual relationship with Ivory Media.
However, the court dismissed the argument after reviewing documentary evidence the production company presented.
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The magistrate noted that the agreements produced in court bore the official company stamps of both parties and had been signed by Philippe Bresson, a director of Ivory Media Limited, and Orlando Lyomu, then Group Chief Executive Officer of Standard Group PLC.
“I find that the Plaintiff has proved, to the required standard, that the sum of Ksh 13,525,320 is due and owing from the Defendant,” read the ruling in part.
The court used emails between the parties, including Standard Group’s finance department acknowledging the debt, payment schedules, and partial payments made on the outstanding amount as evidence.
Nyoike observed that the broadcaster’s conduct was inconsistent with its claim that it had no relationship with Ivory Media.
The court also cited the law established in Royal British Bank v Turquand (1856), which protects third parties dealing with companies and prevents corporations from disowning transactions executed by officials.
KTN’s legal office sent a letter, signed by Legal Officer Beatrice Mumbi, in July 2023, reconciling the account and calculating an expected balance of KSh13,525,319.84, as Ivory Media claimed.
Nyoike held that the production company had proved its claim to the required legal standard and established that the debt remained unpaid.
The court declined to grant Ivory Media damages and established the legal principles that general damages are not recoverable in contractual disputes unless exceptional circumstances are shown.
Instead, the court entered judgment in Ivory Media’s favor for KSh13,525,320, together with interest at court rates of 14% from the date the suit was filed until payment in full. The court also awarded the production company KSh 1,000,000 for the costs of the suit.
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