Law. Faith. Justice. Community. Culture.
Significance: Court of Appeal partly allows appeal against High Court decision and declines to decide on whether the law in Singapore on penalty clauses should be modified in the light of the new UK Supreme Court test for penalty clauses in Cavendish Square Holding BV v Makdessi [2016] AC 1172 (UKSC) (“Cavendish“) which the High Court below applied.
Businesses (creditors) who wish to make a claim against another business (debtors) for a debt arising from contract should follow the State Courts’ pre-action protocol for business-to-business debt claims (the “Protocol“).
A creditor must comply with the framework in the Protocol before commencing any lawsuit in the State Courts.
A debtor must respond to a letter of claim within 14 days of receipt (or the timeline in the letter if earlier).
The Protocol stipulates certain material information and documents which must be provided by the creditor in the letter of claim or the debtor in the response to a letter of claim.
If either the creditor or debtor requests a document or information, the other party must within 14 days of receiving the request provide the document or information sought, or explain why the document or information sought is unavailable.
If you wish to engage me to assist with preparing a letter of demand for your business debt claim, please complete this Google form. (Google account log-in required for file upload.)
Alternatively, if you wish to engage a Singapore lawyer to assist with preparing a response to a letter of claim for business debt, including a counterclaim, you may contact me here.
Justice Chan Seng Onn was the judge who acquitted the foreign domestic worker Ms Parti Liyani of stealing items allegedly belonging to a Karl Liew.
In this piece, I set out some interesting facts about, and insights from, Chan J extracted from an interview with him done by some students several years ago.
Did you know that he was a top A level student along with George Yeo and Teo Chee Hean; he was a President’s Scholar and studied and worked as an engineer before switching mid-career to law?
Continue reading “Insights into the Honourable Justice Chan Seng Onn”
Significance: In a rare split decision, the majority of the Court of Appeal (Sundaresh Menon CJ and Tay Yong Kwang JA; Woo Bih Li J dissenting) refused recognition of foreign bankruptcy order due to breach of natural justice.
The majority found that the evidence did not prove that:
(i) notices of the bankruptcy application in Indonesia were properly served on the appellants;
(ii) the appellants had actual knowledge of the bankruptcy proceedings but chose not to appear in them.
The appellants were thus deprived of the opportunity to challenge validity of service or liability under the guarantees and object to the making of the bankruptcy orders.
The Court left open the issue of the correctness of the legal principles on recognition of foreign bankruptcy orders: at [22].
Supreme Court case summary found here.
Being sued in court is a severe business. If you are not prompt and diligent about handling the case properly, it may be very hard, costly, and time-consuming to defend or vindicate yourself later on.
In this article, I discuss frequently asked questions about being sued in a civil litigation case in the Singapore court.
Continue reading “Article: What to do if I am sued in the Singapore court?”
Significance: Singapore Court of Appeal held that unless there are clear words or strong implication from express words in the contract, a defects liability clause in a property construction or development contract does not cause the owner/employer to lose its right to claim damages at common law for defects.
Here are 7 considerations to bear in mind when you draft a will to be effective when you pass on.
Continue reading “Article: 7 Things to Consider When Writing Testamentary Wills”
As a Singapore employment lawyer, I explain in this article various considerations an employer or human resource (HR) executive should consider when drafting or amending employment contracts / agreements.
Similar information may be found on my www.sglegalforms.com webpage here.
Continue reading “Article: Considerations When Drafting Employment Contracts”
I’ve launched a website for freely accessible legal templates & information based on Singapore law:
www.sglegalforms.com
Continue reading “Legal Templates & Information Website: www.sglegalforms.com”
Significance: Singapore High Court considers factors to determine whether a person was engaged as an employee or independent contractor for purposes of the Central Provident Fund Act (CPFA).