Ong Jane Rebecca v Lim Lie Hoa: Estate Inquiry Costs & Judgment

In the High Court of Singapore, Ong Jane Rebecca sued Lim Lie Hoa and others regarding an inquiry into the estate of the deceased. On 30 June 2003, the court issued orders for final judgment in favor of Ong Jane Rebecca against Lim Lie Hoa for S$2,321,770.27 plus interest, and declared Ong Jane Rebecca entitled to a one-twelfth share of the deceased's interests in land and a bank account. The court also specified costs orders for all parties involved, including the Plaintiff, First Defendant, Second Defendant, and Third and Fourth Defendants, detailing which costs each party was responsible for and the basis for taxation.

1. Case Overview

1.1 Court

High Court

1.2 Outcome

Judgment for Plaintiff against the First Defendant; costs orders specified for all parties.

1.3 Case Type

Civil

1.4 Judgment Type

Grounds of Decision

1.5 Jurisdiction

Singapore

1.6 Description

High Court judgment regarding costs and judgment in an estate inquiry, following a dispute over the administration of a deceased's estate.

1.7 Decision Date

2. Parties and Outcomes

Party NameRoleTypeOutcomeOutcome TypeCounsels
Ong Jane RebeccaPlaintiffIndividualJudgment for PlaintiffWonAndre Arul
Lim Lie Hoa (also known as Lim Le Hoa and Lily Arief Husni)First DefendantIndividualJudgment against First DefendantLostKhoo Boo Jin, Daniel Tan
Sjamsudin Husni (also known as Ong Siauw-Tjoan)Second DefendantIndividualCosts of inquiry to be paid by First DefendantNeutralC Arul
Ong Siauw PingThird DefendantIndividualCosts of inquiry to be paid by First DefendantNeutralVinodh S Coomaraswamy, Chua Sui Tong
Ong Keng TongFourth DefendantIndividualCosts of inquiry to be paid by First DefendantNeutralVinodh S Coomaraswamy, Chua Sui Tong

3. Judges

Judge NameTitleDelivered Judgment
Phang Hsiao ChungAssistant RegistrarYes

4. Counsels

Counsel NameOrganization
Andre ArulArul Chew & Partners
Khoo Boo JinWee Swee Teow & Co
Daniel TanWee Swee Teow & Co
C ArulC Arul & Partners
Vinodh S CoomaraswamyShook Lin & Bok
Chua Sui TongShook Lin & Bok
Karen TeoTSMP Law Corporation

4. Facts

  1. The Plaintiff was the assignee of half of the Second Defendant’s interest in the estate of the Deceased.
  2. The inquiry was conducted pursuant to a judgment dated 16 July 1997 to determine the amount to be paid by the First Defendant to the Plaintiff.
  3. The First Defendant was an administrator of the Deceased’s estate.
  4. The Second Defendant was a co-administrator of the Deceased’s estate but did not control the estate’s assets and accounts.
  5. The Third and Fourth Defendants were beneficiaries of the Deceased’s estate.
  6. The Plaintiff obtained judgment for a substantial sum of money and declarations regarding her entitlement to a share of the Deceased’s assets.

5. Formal Citations

  1. Ong Jane Rebecca v Lim Lie Hoa (also known as Lim Le Hoa and Lily Arief Husni) and Others, OS 939/1991, INQ 1/2002, [2003] SGHC 143
  2. Ong Jane Rebecca v Lim Lie Hoa, , [2003] SGHC 126

6. Timeline

DateEvent
Action commenced
Judgment issued
Interest rate change
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Order of Court in SIC 600652/2001
Application SIC 601571/2002 heard
Orders made in Plaintiff's favour; oral application by TSMP Law Corporation
Orders made regarding costs of inquiry
Counsel for First Defendant applied to vary order
Order on costs of SIC 600652/2001 set aside
Decision Date

7. Legal Issues

  1. Costs of Inquiry
    • Outcome: The court determined which costs each party was responsible for, disallowing certain costs due to unnecessary expenses or irrelevant evidence.
    • Category: Procedural
    • Sub-Issues:
      • Unnecessarily incurred costs
      • Irrelevant evidence
      • Unreasonable protraction of proceedings

8. Remedies Sought

  1. Monetary Damages
  2. Account of Profits
  3. Declaratory Judgment

9. Cause of Actions

  • Breach of Trust
  • Failure to Properly Administer Estate

10. Practice Areas

  • Litigation
  • Estate Administration

11. Industries

  • No industries specified

12. Cited Cases

Case NameCourtAffirmedCitationJurisdictionSignificance
Tullio v MaoroCourt of AppealYes[1994] 2 SLR 489SingaporeCited for the general rule that costs should follow the event unless there are special reasons.
Tham Khai Meng v Nam Wen Jet BernadetteCourt of AppealYes[1997] 2 SLR 27SingaporeCited for the principle that the hearing of divorce ancillary matters is part of the divorce petition hearing, and the same order as to costs should follow unless there are good reasons.
L & M Airconditioning & Refrigeration (Pte) Ltd v SA Shee & Co (Pte) LtdHigh CourtYes[1993] 3 SLR 482SingaporeCited to deprecate the practice of indiscriminately gathering all documents with some connection to the case.
Ong Jane Rebecca v Lim Lie HoaHigh CourtYes[2003] SGHC 126SingaporeCited as the written judgment setting out the background to the case and the reasons for the decision.
Ong Jane Rebecca v Lim Lie HoaHigh CourtYes[2002] 4 SLR 533SingaporeCited regarding the disallowance of certain applications and the court's reasoning behind those decisions.

13. Applicable Rules

Rule Name
No applicable rules

14. Applicable Statutes

Statute NameJurisdiction
Rules of Court (Cap 322, R 5, 1997 Ed)Singapore

15. Key Terms and Keywords

15.1 Key Terms

  • Inquiry
  • Costs
  • Estate
  • Deceased
  • Beneficiary
  • Administrator
  • Mareva injunction
  • Stakeholder
  • Valuation reports
  • Registrar's Certificate

15.2 Keywords

  • Estate
  • Inquiry
  • Costs
  • Judgment
  • Singapore
  • High Court
  • Beneficiary
  • Administrator

16. Subjects

  • Civil Procedure
  • Trusts
  • Estate Administration
  • Costs

17. Areas of Law

  • Civil Procedure
  • Estate Law
  • Trust Law