FIRST COMMERCE SDN BHD v 1. ) BIO HARVEST SDN BHD 2. ) SOO SIEW PENG

ba-22ncc-121-09-2023 High Court (Mahkamah Tinggi) 23 September 2024 • BA-22NCC-121-09/2023 • 39 min read

20 cases cited (0 SG, 20 foreign)

Catchwords

ARBITRATION: Stay of proceedings-Principles applicable- Liquidator initiated suit on behalf of creditors to recover debts owed to the Plaintiff-First Defendant sought mandatory stay of proceedings-Whether certain clauses of the Letter of Award limit the applicability of the PAM Contract 2006-Whether the existence or non-existence of a dispute relevant for determining stay application-Whether First Defendant had taken steps in the proceedings-Whether court may have regard to prohibitive costs of arbitration in refusing stay when Plaintiff is in liquidation -Whether arbitration could not be invoked due to absence of written notice-First Defendant is a third party in Sessions Court Suit involving disputes arising from same project governed by PAM Contract 2006-First Defendant filed a defence in the Sessions Court Suit and applied to strike it out -Whether First Defendant’s conduct in the Sessions Court Suit shows First Defendant had taken steps in the proceedings and waive arbitration agreement-Whether inclusion of Second Defendant who is not a party to the arbitration agreement precludes the stay of proceedings-Arbitration Act 2005;s.10(1)

Practice Areas

Arbitration Civil Procedure

Judges (1)

Jamhirah binti Ali Delivered

Counsel (5)

Kheng Hoe & Lee Yuen Firm Shopna Rani Malakar Firm Henry Ng Zong Hui Counsel Defendant Jess Koong Yu Qian Counsel Defendant Shopna Rani Malakar Counsel Plaintiff

Parties (3)

BIO HARVEST Sdn Bhd Defendant FIRST COMMERCE Sdn Bhd Plaintiff Soo Siew Peng Defendant

Statutes Cited

Arbitration Act 2005 (Cap 646)

Rules of Court 2012

Cases Cited (20)

UK (2)

[1939] 1 All ER 95 [1992] 1 QB 656

MY (17)

[1989] 1 MLJ 226 [1993] 3 MLJ 25 [2000] 3 MLJ 339 [2002] 2 MLJ 625 [2002] 2 MLJ 71 [2010] 5 MLJ 394 [2014] 10 MLJ 633 [2016] 9 CLJ 1 [2016] MLJU 1328 [2019] 5 MLJ 186 [2019] MLJU 181 [2020] 4 CLJ 301 [2020] 4 MLJ 835 [2021] 12 MLJ 614 [2021] 7 CLJ 544 [2022] 5 CLJ 335 [2024] 10 CLJ 216

HK (1)

[1998] 1 HKC 254

Judgment

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Source: eJudgment (ba-22ncc-121-09-2023)