Goh Zhi En

On the court record

Goh Zhi En's reported practice is in commercial and company litigation, appearing at first instance in the High Court and on appeal in the Court of Appeal, and acting across the matters as plaintiff's, respondent's and defendant's counsel.

One matter illustrates the interlocutory, remedy-focused side of that practice. In a High Court suit he acted for the plaintiff on an application for a Mareva freezing injunction, where the court set out the requirements for such relief — a good arguable case, assets within the jurisdiction, and a real risk of dissipation. On the facts the court found a good arguable case and assets within the jurisdiction, but held that no real risk of dissipation had been established, observing that allegations of dishonesty alone do not by themselves indicate a risk that assets will be dissipated.

A second and prominent strand is minority oppression. He appeared in the Court of Appeal in the related appeals concerning CJ Polymers Sdn Bhd, acting for the respondents. The issues included whether removing a member from management with shares locked in was oppressive, whether a pending misconduct suit against the minority barred an oppression action, whether a sale of shares to a new investor terminated a quasi-partnership on the facts, and whether a valuation expert should be subject to cross-examination where the original buyout order did not so provide.

He has also acted in property and tenancy litigation, appearing for the defendant in a High Court dispute arising from a tenancy of land and a multi-storey factory-cum-office building, where the tenant had rented the premises under a tenancy agreement for a fixed term. Taken together, the practice is company and commercial disputes, with a working command of the injunctive and interlocutory tools — freezing orders and shareholder remedies — that decide such cases well before trial.