Commerzbank v Lim Kee Ban Heng: Summary Judgment Appeal on Debt Restructuring

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft, Singapore Branch, sued Lim Kee Ban Heng Pte Ltd and others in the High Court of Singapore. The defendants appealed against an order for summary judgment related to a debt restructuring facility letter. The court, presided over by Judicial Commissioner Choo Han Teck, dismissed the appeal, finding no reasonable issue for trial regarding the maturity date of the loan. The plaintiff's claim was for the recovery of debt based on a facility letter, and the defendants argued an oral agreement altered the maturity date.

1. Case Overview

1.1 Court

High Court

1.2 Outcome

Appeal Dismissed

1.3 Case Type

Civil

1.4 Judgment Type

Grounds of Decision

1.5 Jurisdiction

Singapore

1.6 Description

Appeal against summary judgment regarding debt restructuring. The court dismissed the appeal, finding no reasonable issue for trial concerning the maturity date.

1.7 Decision Date

8 March 2001

2. Parties and Outcomes

Party Name	Role	Type	Outcome	Outcome Type	Counsels
Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft, Singapore Branch	Plaintiff, Respondent	Corporation	Judgment for Plaintiff	Won	Oommen Mathew of Tan Peng Chin & Patners
Lim Kee Ban Heng Pte Ltd	Defendant, Appellant	Corporation	Appeal Dismissed	Lost	Teo Siew Kuey of Chang Teo & Partners
Lim Mong Hock	Defendant, Appellant	Individual	Appeal Dismissed	Lost	Teo Siew Kuey of Chang Teo & Partners
Lim Boon Siew	Defendant, Appellant	Individual	Appeal Dismissed	Lost	Teo Siew Kuey of Chang Teo & Partners
Lim Boon Pin	Defendant, Appellant	Individual	Appeal Dismissed	Lost	Teo Siew Kuey of Chang Teo & Partners
Lim Siew Eng	Defendant, Appellant	Individual	Appeal Dismissed	Lost	Teo Siew Kuey of Chang Teo & Partners

3. Judges

Judge Name	Title	Delivered Judgment
Choo Han Teck	Judicial Commissioner	Yes

4. Counsels

Counsel Name	Organization
Oommen Mathew	Tan Peng Chin & Patners
Teo Siew Kuey	Chang Teo & Partners

4. Facts

The first defendant negotiated a debt restructuring with the plaintiff bank.
A facility letter dated 12 June 2000 set the loan amount at $760,000.
The maturity date in the facility letter was fixed at 31 August 2000.
The second to fifth defendants were guarantors under the facility letter.
The first defendant failed to pay on the due date.
The plaintiff's solicitors served a letter of demand dated 6 October 2000.
Defendants argued an oral agreement extended the maturity date to 31 August 2001.

5. Formal Citations

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft, Singapore Branch v Lim Kee Ban Heng Pte Ltd and Others, Suit 1088/2000/Q, RA 39/2001, [2001] SGHC 45

6. Timeline

Date	Event
1995-07-25	Original trade financing facility granted
2000-06-01	Trade financing facility terminated
2000-06-12	Facility letter created
2000-08-31	Maturity date of loan per facility letter
2000-10-06	Letter of demand served
2001-03-09	Appeal dismissed

7. Legal Issues

Breach of Contract
- Outcome: The court found no reasonable issue for trial regarding the breach of contract.
- Category: Substantive
Summary Judgment
- Outcome: The court upheld the assistant registrar's decision to grant summary judgment.
- Category: Procedural

8. Remedies Sought

Monetary Damages

9. Cause of Actions

Breach of Contract
Debt Recovery

10. Practice Areas

Commercial Litigation
Banking Litigation

11. Industries

Banking
Finance

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

Facility Letter
Debt Restructuring
Summary Judgment
Guarantors
Maturity Date
Oral Agreement

15.2 Keywords

Debt Restructuring
Summary Judgment
Facility Letter
Singapore
Banking

17. Areas of Law

Area Name	Relevance Score
Summary Judgement	90
Contract Law	80
Guarantee	70
Facility Letter	65
Banking and Finance	60
Mistake	50

16. Subjects

Banking
Finance
Debt Recovery
Contract Law