The US federal court in the Southern District of New York on May 23rd, 2025, recorded a voluntary dismissal of a Ksh. 220 million case by the plaintiffs against Tycoon Julius Mwale.
The voluntary dismissal by the plaintiffs Mathew Shaw and Brooke Shaw came 11 days after another United States district court in the State of Utah closed the same case and transferred it to the US federal court in the Southern District of New York. “Accordingly, the motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction, or in the alternative to transfer venue to the Southern District of New York is granted in part,” ruled United States District Judge Ann Marie McIff Allen on May 12th, 2025.
The plaintiffs had filed the case in July 2024 in the US District Court in Utah against Tycoon Julius Mwale and his wife Kaila Mwale, alleging that they lent the tycoon money in 2022 as a loan towards Mwale’s projects in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
They also claimed misrepresentations about certain aspects of the US $2 billion Mwale Medical and Technology City (MMTC) project in Kenya during the loan presentation.
However, in a spirited defence by Tycoon Mwale’s lawyers, Jennifer Tomchak and Nicole Skolout, the tycoon successfully argued to defeat the case’s trial in Utah, resulting in the court closing the case and transferring it to the Southern District of New York. “As to transferring the venue, the defendants (Mwales) claim this case involves an operative agreement with the plaintiffs that mandates the Southern District of New York as the ‘exclusive venue’ for litigation,” said Judge Allen in the May 12th, 2025 ruling. “The defendants ask the Court to transfer the case pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1404(a),” she stated.
In a surprising response to the tycoon’s motion, the plaintiffs Mathew and Brooke Shaw agreed with Mwale’s filing that a contract existed supporting Mwale’s assertion that New York was the exclusive venue for contract disputes. The court accordingly closed the case and transferred it to the Southern District of New York.
“In the plaintiffs’ memorandum in opposition, they indicate they ‘consent to transferring venue for this case to the Southern District of New York’,” wrote the Judge. This ruling was significant as it revealed that the plaintiffs had knowingly filed a case in the wrong court and aggressively publicised it to inflict damage, only to later concede that the venue was incorrect. Eleven days after the judge closed the case in Utah and moved it to New York, the plaintiffs then voluntarily moved to dismiss the case from the Southern District of New York.
Reached for comment about the swift turn of events, Tycoon Mwale’s representative stated that “Mwale is glad that justice has been rendered and served, as they knew the case was frivolous and malicious from the beginning, because claims in the case had been fully settled by both parties with independent counsel more than a year prior to the malicious court filing and publication by the plaintiffs.” He added that the lawyers are studying the court events for the next course of action.
This assertion was supported by court documents in the Federal Court in Utah, where Mwale’s lawyers filed the contract and settlement agreements that were negotiated by experienced counsel on both sides.
The court documents show that the plaintiffs had initially shared a draft lawsuit with the Mwales on April 10, 2023, threatening to file the suit that Mwale labelled as frivolous. “Subsequently, on April 27 and 28, 2023, the Shaws and the Mwales resolved their disputes by entering the loan modification agreement and release agreement, which was negotiated by experienced counsel on both sides,” wrote Nicole Skolout, Mr. Mwale’s attorney, in the court filing in Utah.
“The release agreement provides that ‘the Shaws release and forever discharge the Mwales, individually and collectively, from any and all claims as defined in this agreement,'” wrote Nicole Skolout in response to the Shaws’ claims in Utah court in November 2024. “The release agreement further states that the parties agree that they will not ‘file any future charge or complaint nor institute any legal action or proceedings at law or in equity related to claims released in this release agreement, and that if any such charge or complaint is filed by a party, that party hereby waives any right to any monies herein or damages from such action or proceeding,'” stated Nicole Skolout.
Titan connections:
The case also provided insight into Mr. Mwale’s business dealings and connections in the USA. It revealed connections between tycoon Mwale and American business titans and politicians.
The declarations filed in court show that Elon Musk’s Tesla partnered for the multimillion-dollar MMTC solar power plant in Butere, which runs on Tesla batteries. Documents also indicated that the tycoon had connections with former US ambassador to Kenya Meg Whitman, former US senator and presidential candidate Mitt Romney, musician Akon, and many US corporate CEOs.
As the lawsuit continued in the US since July 2024, MMTC continued to host hundreds of investors in Kenya who committed to billions in deals at the FESTAC business conference held in September 2024 at MMTC in Butere.
The city held the second MMTC Marathon event in January 2025, which attracted thousands of athletes and participants. The event also raised money for SHA healthcare premiums for low-income households in Kenya to be treated at Hamptons Hospital.
In March, the city held the second MMTC health walk and launched the expansion of Hamptons Hospital to Suriname, South America.
In early May, the MMTC team participated in the Milken Conference in Los Angeles, USA, where they struck deals with investors and partners for the Smart Cities expansion.
MMTC is a US $2 billion community-owned sustainable metropolis, anchored by Hamptons Hospital in Butere Sub County, Kakamega County.
The city in Kenya is operational and complete, with a vision to expand into 12 countries and build 18 smart cities by 2050.
The voluntary dismissal of the lawsuit is further proof of MMTC’s success in advancing its well-received vision, despite challenges from detractors of the noble project.
“Pursuant to Rule 41(a)(1)(A) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Plaintiffs Mathew Shaw and Brooke Shaw, by their undersigned attorneys, hereby give notice that the above-captioned action is voluntarily dismissed without prejudice against defendants Julius Mwale and Kaila Mwale.” This notice of voluntary dismissal was filed at the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on May 23rd, 2025.
