SUBBAIYAMMAH A/P KANNA NAIDU v TETUAN GEETHAN RAM (SEBUAH FIRMA GUAMAN YANG BERDAFTAR DENGAN MAJLIS PEGUAM MALAYSIA)

ba-17d-1-04-2024 High Court (Mahkamah Tinggi) 27 March 2025 • BA-17D-1-04/2024 • 83 min read
23 cases cited (0 SG, 23 foreign)

Catchwords

TAXATION OF BILL OF COSTS: preparation of Bill of Costs - purpose of taxation - comment and remark of paying party - Legal Profession Act 1976, s. 132 TAXATION OF BILL OF COSTS: affidavit evidence - consideration of relevant evidence - discretion of taxing officer and exclusion - documents filed in Court's e-Filing system - minutes of relevant cases in Court's e-Filing system TAXATION OF BILL OF COSTS: affidavit evidence - failure to prepare affidavit despite Court's instruction - failure to file Notice of Intention to use Affidavit GETTING UPS: getting ups of each works stated in one lump sum under heading "Getting Up (A)" - whether reference to written submissions allowed - whether invoices previously prepared prior to obtaining order for taxation still relevant - Legal Profession Act 1976, s. 121(c) TAXATION OF BILL OF COSTS - applicable principles - Legal Profession (Practice and Etiquette) Rules 1978, r. 11 - Rules of Court 2012, O. 59, r. 16(1) - Rules of Court 2012, O. 59, r. 17(2) - quantum - principle GETTING UPS: considerations - application of Letter of Administration - running down cases - market rate - conduct of solicitors toward the case - importance of matter to client GETTING UPS: approach to taxation - based on knowledge of market rate - based on estimate damages that the client will obtain - based on estimate costs if costs on party-to-party basis is assessed - based on percentage of total judgement sum - Legal Profession Conditional Fee (Personal Injury) Rules - proposal GETTING UPS: other considerations - entitlement of solicitors - entitlement to incur fee in respect of each and every matter - entitlement in event discharged in the eleventh hour - difference between preparation for oral submissions and the actual oral submissions - necessity of using the service of senior counsel in preparation of appeal when the full trial was conducted by a senior associate of the same firm OUT OF POCKET EXPENSES: failure to adduce supporting receipts and documentations - presumed bona fide - onus of rebutting the presumption - effect of failure to rebut - Legal Profession Act 1976, s. 124(3) INTERESTS: Legal Profession Act 1976, s. 133 - whether financed - client did not enjoy the benefit - moneys retained with solicitors as stakeholder pending outcome of appeal - whether entitled to impose interest

Practice Areas

Judges (1)

Counsel (4)

Parties (2)

Statutes Cited

Rules of Court 2012
Supreme Court Act 1981
s 51(1)

Cases Cited (23)

UK (1)
[1983] 3 All ER 153
MY (22)
[1984] 1 MLJ 95 [1987] 2 CLJ 26 [1989] 1 MLJ 156 [1990] 1 MLJ 292 [1991] 1 CLJ 594 [1992] 1 MLJ 779 [1994] 1 MLJ 47 [1995] 4 CLJ 108 [1995] 4 CLJ 670 [1998] 7 MLJ 168 [1999] 7 CLJ 481 [2000] 2 MLJ 29 [2003] 7 CLJ 50 [2012] 9 CLJ 352 [2013] 10 MLJ 805 [2014] 10 MLJ 385 [2018] 8 CLJ 566 [2019] MLJU 625 [2022] MLJU 3674 [2023] 7 CLJ 313 [2023] 8 CLJ 966 [2024] 6 CLJ 487

Judgment

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Source: eJudgment (ba-17d-1-04-2024)