BH Koh, Soong, Zarin & Partners

On the court record

The firm's record illustrates how the lack of legal capacity of an unincorporated association can render a joint-venture agreement void, and the limitation and acknowledgement rules governing an advocate's recovery of unpaid legal fees under the Limitation Act 1953.

BH Koh, Soong, Zarin & Partners appears in the corpus as counsel in land, contract and costs litigation, argued in the High Court (Mahkamah Tinggi) and the Court of Appeal (Mahkamah Rayuan).

A connected group of matters concerns a joint-venture agreement to develop a columbarium on land designated for a Chinese cemetery, involving Majestic Memorial Park (BS) Sdn Bhd. Acting for the defendant, the firm appeared in proceedings under Order 89 of the Rules of Court 2012 raising whether the defendant was entitled to remain on the property after the joint-venture agreement had been declared void by the Court of Appeal, and whether the plaintiffs could bring the action in their own names rather than in the name of their association. In the connected Court of Appeal matter the court found that the association lacked the legal capacity to enter into the joint-venture agreement, as it neither owned the land nor had the right to manage it, so that the agreement was void, and the High Court's decision was upheld with costs.

The firm also appeared in a dispute over legal fees. Acting for the appellant in a claim by an advocate and solicitor for the recovery of unpaid fees for litigation services rendered over several years, the firm was engaged where the court examined whether the defendant had acted as principal or agent, whether a plea under section 183 of the Contracts Act 1950 was available, and whether a constructive trust or breach of fiduciary duty was established, together with limitation questions under sections 26(2) and 27 of the Limitation Act 1953, including whether the debt had been acknowledged in writing and whether the limitation period was postponed by ongoing negotiations. The firm's record is a land-and-contract litigation practice engaging the capacity of associations, possession of land and the recovery of professional fees.