<p class="ql-align-justify">JUDGMENT OF THE COURT</p><p class="ql-align-justify">Hems Group Trading Company Limited, the appellant, (<em>hereinafter called &quot;the plaintiff&quot;</em>) filed a suit in the superior court on 22nd April, 1997 against Cotecna Inspection SA, the respondent, <em>(hereinafter called &quot;the defendant&quot;</em>) claiming damages, special and general, for alleged breach of contractual and statutory duty. The plaint was subsequently amended on 29th May, 1997.</p><p class="ql-align-justify">The plaintiff&#x27;s case as pleaded in the amended plaint is briefly that the defendant operates in Kenya and elsewhere a comprehensive import supervision scheme intended, inter alia, to ensure that goods imported into Kenya comply in quality and quantity with contractual specifications, which duty includes preshipment physical inspection of goods for quality and quantity and inspection thereof at destination. It was the responsibility of the defendant, among other things, to ensure that the quality and quantity of the goods was in conformity with the stipulations of the Import Declaration Form (IDF) …</p>