A stock mismatch has sunk Mombasa-based distributor Doshi Ironmongers’ bid to recover Sh15 million from Haco Industries and French manufacturer Société BIC in a long-running dispute over alleged counterfeit BIC pens.
- •The Court of Appeal has overturned an earlier High Court decision that had ordered Haco and BIC to refund the money, ruling that Doshi failed to prove the pens seized from its warehouse in 2002 were the same products covered under a 2002 settlement agreement.
- •Doshi had paid the Sh15 million as part of that settlement to end earlier disputes, including a 1996 criminal case over BIC pens.
- •The agreement stated that the pens involved in the 1996 case, referred to as the 1996 products, would not be the basis of new legal action.
When Haco raised a complaint that led to fresh charges in 2002 after a warehouse seizure, Doshi argued that the settlement had been breached and sought reimbursement.
But appellate judges Fredrick Tuiyott, Dr Kibaya Laibuta and G.W. Ngenye found that the numbers did not add up.
According to records tabled in court, the pens linked to the 1996 case totaled 633,600 units and the pens seized during the 2002 raid amounted to 695,858 units.
The judges said the difference of more than 62,000 pens undermined Doshi’s claim that the two batches were identical.
Doshi did not provide stock movement records, customer return documents or warehouse logs to explain the excess, the court noted.
Without proof the seized pens were the same ones protected under the settlement, the judges ruled there was no breach by Haco and BIC.
The appeal court therefore set aside the High Court ruling dismissing Doshi’s claim.
The decision closes one of the country’s longest-running commercial disputes in the stationery market, underscoring the weight courts place on inventory documentation in trademark and counterfeit-related cases.
