Tunas (Pte) Ltd v Ng Man-Leong: Appeal on Striking Out Statement of Claim for Relitigating Prior Actions
In Tunas (Pte) Ltd v Ng Man-Leong, before the High Court of Singapore on 30 January 2001, the defendant appealed against the dismissal of his application to strike out the plaintiff's statement of claim. The defendant argued that the plaintiff's action was an attempt to relitigate issues from five earlier actions. The court allowed the defendant's appeal, finding that the plaintiff's suit was a repetition of issues already decided in previous suits and ordered the Plaintiffs to pay the Defendant $3,500 as the costs of the entire action.
1. Case Overview
1.1 Court
High Court1.2 Outcome
Appeal Allowed
1.3 Case Type
Civil
1.4 Judgment Type
Grounds of Decision
1.5 Jurisdiction
Singapore
1.6 Description
Appeal regarding striking out the plaintiff's statement of claim. The court found the action was an attempt to relitigate issues from prior suits and allowed the appeal.
1.7 Decision Date
2. Parties and Outcomes
| Party Name | Role | Type | Outcome | Outcome Type | Counsels |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tunas Pte Ltd | Plaintiff, Respondent | Corporation | Appeal Dismissed | Lost | |
| Ng Man-Leong | Defendant, Appellant | Individual | Appeal Allowed | Won |
3. Judges
| Judge Name | Title | Delivered Judgment |
|---|---|---|
| Tay Yong Kwang | Judicial Commissioner | Yes |
4. Counsels
| Counsel Name | Organization |
|---|---|
| Peter Pang | Peter Pang & Co |
| Julian Kwek | Drew & Napier |
4. Facts
- Plaintiff commenced action claiming the defendant breached a settlement agreement.
- The settlement agreement involved the exchange of payments for Chinese antiques and related documents.
- Defendant claimed the plaintiff was attempting to relitigate issues from five earlier actions.
- The plaintiff had previously allowed judgments to be entered against them in the earlier suits.
- The plaintiff argued that the defendant failed to provide customs clearance documents as agreed.
- The defendant argued that the exchange of documents did not occur due to the plaintiff's fault.
- The court found that the plaintiff's suit was a repetition of the same issues from the earlier suits.
5. Formal Citations
- Tunas (Pte) Ltd v Ng Man-Leong, Suit 408/2000, RA 73/2000, [2001] SGHC 16
6. Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| Defendant delivered shipments of Chinese antiques to the Plaintiff between 1995 and 1998. | |
| Defendant commenced action against Plaintiff and their chairman. | |
| Plaintiff's solicitors sent a letter outlining settlement terms. | |
| Defendant's solicitors accepted the settlement terms. | |
| Attempted exchange of documents. | |
| Another attempted exchange of documents. | |
| MC Suit No. 15327/99 commenced. | |
| MC Suit No. 17228/99 commenced. | |
| MC Suit No. 60687/99 commenced. | |
| DC Suit No. 21/2000 commenced. | |
| Plaintiff objected to the judgment entered in default of appearance. | |
| MC Suit No. 8588/2000 commenced. | |
| Plaintiff demanded production of documents. | |
| Plaintiff's solicitors sent a letter holding the defendant in breach of settlement terms. | |
| Plaintiff's solicitors sent a letter indicating they would file an action for specific performance. | |
| Plaintiffs commenced the present action. | |
| Application to set aside the judgment in DC Suit 21 of 2000 was heard. | |
| Application to set aside the judgment in DC Suit 21 of 2000 was dismissed. | |
| Appeal against the dismissal of the application to set aside the judgment in DC Suit 21 of 2000 was dismissed. | |
| Judgment issued. |
7. Legal Issues
- Abuse of Process
- Outcome: The court found that the plaintiff's suit was an abuse of process as it was an attempt to relitigate issues from prior suits.
- Category: Procedural
- Sub-Issues:
- Relitigation of issues
- Breach of Settlement Agreement
- Outcome: The court found that any breach of the settlement agreement was on the part of the Plaintiffs.
- Category: Substantive
- Estoppel
- Outcome: The court held that the Plaintiffs were estopped from alleging that the exchange of documents was incomplete.
- Category: Substantive
8. Remedies Sought
- Specific Performance
- Damages
- Restraining Order
9. Cause of Actions
- Breach of Contract
- Specific Performance
- Damages
10. Practice Areas
- Commercial Litigation
11. Industries
- Retail
- Import/Export
12. Cited Cases
| Case Name | Court | Affirmed | Citation | Jurisdiction | Significance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No cited cases | |||||
13. Applicable Rules
| Rule Name |
|---|
| No applicable rules |
14. Applicable Statutes
| Statute Name | Jurisdiction |
|---|---|
| No applicable statutes | |
15. Key Terms and Keywords
15.1 Key Terms
- Settlement Agreement
- Chinese Antiques
- Customs Clearance Documents
- Exchange of Documents
- Instalment Payments
- Relitigation
- Estoppel
15.2 Keywords
- settlement agreement
- breach of contract
- abuse of process
- estoppel
- re-litigation
- chinese antiques
17. Areas of Law
| Area Name | Relevance Score |
|---|---|
| Breach of Contract | 80 |
| Contract Law | 75 |
| Civil Procedure | 70 |
| Estoppel | 60 |
| Summary Judgment | 50 |
| Abuse of Process | 40 |
16. Subjects
- Civil Litigation
- Contract Dispute
- Abuse of Process