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Singapore · Practice area

Civil procedure

Pleadings, interlocutory applications, costs, limitation, and appeals.

1,077 decisions

Principal legislation

Civil procedure decisions

Result 221

[2024] SGHC 310

Devin Jethanand Bhojwani and others v Jethanand Harkishindas Bhojwani

General Division of the High Court5 December 2024

Civil Procedure — Affidavits — Principles applicable to grant of permission to adduce new affidavit of evidence-in-chief after deadline for filing and exchanging of affidavits of evidence-in-chief between litigants has elapsed — Two-stage test of relevance and prejudice for allowing new affidavit of evidence-in-chief to be admitted into evidence — Whether undue prejudice is occasioned to litigant where opposing party seeks to introduce new affidavit of evidence-in-chief addressing new points of fact close to start of civil trial after deadline for affidavits of evidence-in-chief to be filed and exchange between them has passed; Civil Procedure — Pleadings — Amendment — Principles applicable to grant of permission to amend pleadings — Whether to allow amendment of reply close to start of civil trial where amendment is responsive to pleading in amended defence; Equity — Fiduciary relationships — Fiduciary relationship of trustee and beneficiary — Whether fiduciary breached no-conflict rule — Whether fiduciary placed himself in position where duty to principal and personal interest may conflict in approving amendment to company constitution negating rights of trust property in form of preference share whilst holding ordinary shares in same company as absolute owner; Equity — Maxims — Defences — Whether beneficiaries alleging breaches of trust came to court of equity with clean hands — Relationship between clean hands doctrine in equity and Ochroid Trading approach to illegality doctrine in common law; Equity — Remedies — Account — Account on wilful default basis — Applicable test for showing wilful default of trustee — Whether trustee displayed want of ordinary prudence in conduct and administration of trust; Succession and Wills — Construction — Application of armchair principle to construction of meaning of testament constituting express testamentary trust — Whether testament on proper construction conferred power on trustee to effect conversion of preference share in company held on trust into ordinary share notwithstanding trustee holds ordinary shares in same company as absolute owner; Trusts — Breach of trust — Exclusion of liability — Construction of exclusion of liability clause — Restrictive interpretation of clause purporting to exclude liability of trustee — Armitage v Nurse approach to construction of exclusion of liability clauses in trusts instruments — Whether phrase “absolute discretion” in trust instrument enlarged trustee’s powers — Whether phrase “absolute discretion” abridged trustee’s duties — Whether phrase “absolute discretion” amounted to valid and enforceable exclusion of liability clause; Trusts — Breach of trust — Remedies — Remedy of surcharging — Application of remedy of surcharging to default of trustee on management stewardship duty — Causal inquiry to identify what prudent trustee would have done in hypothetical assessment of how trustee should have acted — Whether hypothetical prudent trustee would have approved amendment to company constitution negating rights of trust property in form of preference share without accretion of equivalent value to trust estate to compensate for corresponding loss of market value of share; Trusts — Breach of trust — Remedies — Remedy of falsification — Application of remedy of falsification to default of trustee on custodial stewardship duty — No causal inquiry where substitutive remedy of falsification is engaged — Disallowing sale of company shares held on trust where trust shares were sold by trustee at sale price below market value with corresponding obligation on trustee to reconstitute trust estate in specie; Trusts — Trustees — Duties — Statutory duty of care to exercise such care and skill as is reasonable in circumstances when exercising general power of investment — Section 3A Trustees Act 1967 (2020 Rev Ed); Trusts — Trustees — Duties — Common law duty of care to manage and administer trust as ordinary prudent man of business would have adopted in circumstances — Application of Speight v Gaunt common law standard of care owed by trustee to beneficiaries; Trusts — Trustees — Duties — Duty to keep and maintain proper accounts of trust — Whether proof of loss required for breach of duty to keep and maintain proper accounts of trust to be actionable in law by beneficiaries; Trusts — Trustees — Duties — Whether trustee under duty to inform beneficiaries of beneficial interests under trust; Trusts — Trustees — Duties — Whether trustee under duty to refrain from acting in Wednesbury unreasonable manner in administration of trust; Trusts — Trustees — Powers — Grounds of challenge to trustee’s exercise of trust powers by beneficiaries; Trusts — Trustees — Powers — Relationship between trustee’s duties and powers; Trusts — Trustees — Powers — Principle of non-intervention — Whether principle that court will not generally interfere in exercise of pure discretion by trustee in use of trust powers bears relevance in how default of duty of trustee to be conceptualised in law; Trusts — Trustees — Removal — Test for removal of trustee — Whether trustee lacking in proper capacity to execute duties — Whether court should exercise discretion to appoint some of several named beneficiaries amongst wider class of beneficiaries of trust as replacement co-trustees of trust

Result 222

[2024] SGHC 308

Wuhu Ruyi Xinbo Investment Partnership (Ltd Partnership) v Shandong Ruyi Technology Group Co, Ltd and another

General Division of the High Court3 December 2024

Arbitration — Enforcement — Foreign award — Breach of “unless order” made in proceedings to enforce foreign award — Whether striking out proceedings to enforce foreign award contrary to Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards Concluded at New York on 10th June 1958 — Articles III and V of the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards Concluded at New York on 10th June 1958; Arbitration — Enforcement — Foreign award — Breach of “unless order” made in proceedings to enforce foreign award — Whether striking out proceedings to enforce foreign award contrary to pro-enforcement policy or principle of minimal curial intervention; Civil Procedure — Production of documents — Breach of “unless orders” — Whether “unless order” for production of documents breached — Whether “plain and obvious” that party in “possession or control” of further documents responsive to specific production order — Test for “control” — O 11 r 3 of the Rules of Court 2021; Civil Procedure — Production of documents — Breach of “unless orders” —Party claiming in affidavit verifying list of documents that no further documents in possession or control — Requirements of explanation in affidavit verifying list of documents — Whether affidavit verifying list of documents deficient; Civil Procedure — Striking out — Breach of “unless order” — Whether sanction in “unless order” automatic in effect — Whether striking out proportionate response to breach of “unless order” — Scope of inquiry into proportionality

Result 223

[2024] SGHC 302

Group Lease Holdings Pte Ltd (in liquidation) and another v Group Lease Public Co Ltd

General Division of the High Court28 November 2024

Civil Procedure — Injunctions — Interim injunctions — Principles — Distinction between prohibitory and mandatory injunctions; Civil Procedure — Injunctions — Interim Injunctions — Ancillary disclosure orders — Whether ancillary disclosure orders may be made in respect of prohibitory injunctions; Insolvency Law — Avoidance of transactions — Unfair preferences — Principles — Whether grant of security and assignment of receivables to parent company constituted unfair preferences — Section 225 Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018 (2020 Rev Ed); Insolvency Law — Administration of insolvent estates — Statutory injunctions — Section 270 Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018 (2020 Rev Ed); Credit and Security — Charges — Non-registration of charges — Charge over shares of subsidiary alleged to be void against liquidator — Whether created security constituted registrable charge — Whether unregistered charge void against provisional liquidator — Whether enforcement of charge rendered charge spent prior to appointment of liquidator — Sections 131(1) and 131(3) Companies Act 1967 (2020 Rev Ed); Contract — Illegality and public policy — Whether alleged breach of Mareva injunction capable of rendering contract void and unenforceable

Result 228

[2024] SGCA 50

COSCO Shipping Specialized Carriers Co, Ltd v PT OKI Pulp & Paper Mills and others and another matter

Court of Appeal13 November 2024

Arbitration — Restraint of proceedings — Foreign judicial; Arbitration — Agreement — Scope — Whether dispute arising for damage done by shipowner/carrier to a trestle bridge owned by the cargo shipper is a dispute “arising out of or in connection with” the contract of carriage evidenced by bills of lading; Civil Procedure — Injunctions — Restraint of foreign judicial proceedings

Result 230

[2024] SGHCR 13

Tee Kim Leng and others v Hong Kah Ing

High Court Registrar13 November 2024

Civil Procedure — Striking out — Whether the plaintiffs’ claims for breach of contract ought to be struck out for having no reasonable cause of action, being frivolous or vexatious or an abuse of process; Civil Procedure — Summary judgment — Whether summary judgment ought to be granted on the plaintiffs’ claims; Civil Procedure — Costs — Security — Whether the foreign plaintiffs ought to pay security for costs

Result 239

[2024] SGHC 264

VeriFone, Inc v Firemane Pte Ltd

General Division of the High Court21 October 2024

Civil Procedure — Summary judgment — Applicable principles for grant or refusal of summary judgment; Contract — Contractual terms — Contracting party owing liability claiming set-off against sums due under settlement agreement — Whether contractual requisites for set-off sum to be engaged were satisfied; Contract — Contractual terms — Whether clauses were primary or secondary obligations — Whether clause in settlement agreement providing for full and accelerated payment upon failure to pay settlement sum in instalments by due dates was primary or secondary obligation

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