Azam Aziz & Co

On the court record

The firm's record spans the general civil-litigation field, from land-based torts to defamation and the statutory definition of consumer under the Electricity Supply Act 1990 in strata developments.

Azam Aziz & Co appears in the corpus as counsel in civil litigation spanning land and construction torts, defamation and public-utility disputes, argued in the High Court (Mahkamah Tinggi) and the Court of Appeal (Mahkamah Rayuan).

One matter concerned earthworks and road-construction carried out near the plaintiffs' land. Acting for the plaintiffs, the firm appeared where the court found the defendant liable for trespass and negligence: as the judgment records, Plaintif-Plaintif mendakwa bahawa kerja-kerja tersebut telah dijalankan tanpa persetujuan mereka, menyebabkan gangguan fizikal ke atas tanah mereka (the plaintiffs alleged that the works had been carried out without their consent, causing physical disturbance to their land), and the court held that Defendan bertanggungjawab atas pencerobohan dan kecuaian (the defendant was liable for trespass and negligence), awarding general damages.

The firm also appeared in defamation litigation. In one matter it acted for the respondent where the court considered a plaintiff's standing and the applicability of the Derbyshire principle to an individual plaintiff, whether statements alleging religious subversion lowered the plaintiff in the estimation of right-thinking members of society, whether collective references reasonably identified the plaintiff, and the defences of justification, fair comment and qualified privilege. A separate defamation matter raised malice and the reliefs of general, aggravated and exemplary damages, an injunction, and a public retraction and apology.

In a public-utility dispute the firm acted for the defendant where the court examined electricity supply to the common area of a subdivided strata building, the meaning of consumer under the Electricity Supply Act 1990, whether a joint management body rather than the developer was the true consumer, and the liability of a management corporation for outstanding charges by operation of law. The firm's record reflects a general civil-litigation practice, ranging from the tortious consequences of construction works on neighbouring land to the reputational stakes of defamation and the statutory allocation of liability for utility charges in strata developments, and it shows an ease in handling matters argued in both English and Bahasa Malaysia.