James Finlay, the Scottish tea company fighting a multi-million pound class action lawsuit, has won a court order to bring the case to a temporary halt.
The Aberdeen-registered company is being sued for damages by more than 1,000 former and current employees, who claim they suffered musculoskeletal injuries working on its tea farms in Kenya.
Lawyers for the workers said the court order was a "very desperate attempt" after coming together against the company in the Court of Session.
James Finlay lost an appeal against the case being allowed to go ahead and has instead now taken action through the legal system in Kenya.
Following its application, the Employment and Labour Relations Court in Nairobi has issued an interim anti-suit injunction, prohibiting the workers from pressing ahead with the Scottish case for now.
Those bringing the case allege they were required to carry out repetitive manual labour, with long hours and no breaks in Kenya's Kericho region.
Their lawyers had expected many more former tea pickers to join the lawsuit over the coming months, but that process has been stopped under the injunction.
In court papers, James Finlay argued that the Court of Session case represents an "an assault on the sovereignty of the Republic of Kenya" and violates the country's constitution.
It described the Scottish lawsuit as "vexatious, oppressive, unjust, unconscionable and costly to defend" and said it will cause the company "irreparable damage and harm".
It contends that the "proper and natural forum" for a work injury dispute involving Kenyan workers governed by Kenyan law is in Kenya, not Scotland.
Another hearing involving lawyers from both sides is scheduled to take place in the Nairobi court later this month.
The tea pickers' legal team, led by Thompsons Solicitors, is expected to challenge the order, having previously argued that as a Scottish company, James Finlay is open to legal action in Scotland's courts.
The wider Finlays group is one of the world's biggest tea producers, with customers including Starbucks. It dates back to a Scottish textile merchant, who founded the business in 1750.
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