RBG Resources v Banque Cantonale: Costs & Interest on Conversion Claim

In RBG Resources plc (in liquidation) v Banque Cantonale Vaudoise and Others, the High Court of Singapore addressed the issue of costs and interest following a judgment in favor of RBG Resources against Credit Lyonnais (CL) for conversion of nickel briquettes. The court, presided over by Woo Bih Li J, considered arguments regarding offers to settle, certification of costs for multiple counsels, and the appropriate interest rate and period for damages awarded to RBG. The court awarded 70% of the costs of RBG’s claim and CL’s counterclaim to RBG on a standard basis up to 9 January 2004, and 70% of such costs on an indemnity basis from 10 January 2004. The court also ordered CL to pay interest on the damages at a rate of 3% per annum from 17 June 2002 to 4 August 2004.

1. Case Overview

1.1 Court

High Court

1.2 Outcome

Order for costs and interest made.

1.3 Case Type

Civil

1.4 Judgment Type

Grounds of Decision

1.5 Jurisdiction

Singapore

1.6 Description

High Court judgment on costs and interest following a conversion claim by RBG Resources against Credit Lyonnais. The court addressed offers to settle and certification of costs.

1.7 Decision Date

5 August 2004

2. Parties and Outcomes

Party Name	Role	Type	Outcome	Outcome Type	Counsels
Banque Cantonale Vaudoise	Defendant	Corporation
RBG Resources plc (in liquidation)	Plaintiff	Corporation	Judgment for Plaintiff	Won	Sarjit Singh Gill of Shook Lin and Bok Matthew Saw of Lee and Lee Seah Yi Lein of Shook Lin and Bok
Credit Lyonnais	Defendant	Corporation	Counterclaim Dismissed	Lost	Loh Jen Wei of Rodyk and Davidson Lawrence Teh of Rodyk and Davidson
Westdeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale	Defendant	Corporation
BNP Paribas (Suisse) S.A.	Defendant	Corporation
Ing Bank N.V.	Defendant	Corporation
Banque Bruxelles Lambert	Defendant	Corporation
GMAC Commercial Finance PLC	Defendant	Corporation

3. Judges

Judge Name	Title	Delivered Judgment
Woo Bih Li	Judge	Yes

4. Counsels

Counsel Name	Organization
Sarjit Singh Gill	Shook Lin and Bok
Matthew Saw	Lee and Lee
Seah Yi Lein	Shook Lin and Bok
Loh Jen Wei	Rodyk and Davidson
Lawrence Teh	Rodyk and Davidson

4. Facts

RBG Resources sued Credit Lyonnais for conversion of nickel briquettes.
RBG sought costs for the entire proceedings, despite failing on an issue under s 62(4) of the Sale of Goods Act.
RBG made multiple offers to settle with Credit Lyonnais.
The value of the metals in the warehouses was between US$8m and US$9m.
The value of the nickel briquettes under the claim for conversion was over US$2m.
RBG sought indemnity costs from the date of service of the second or third offer to settle.
RBG sought a certification of costs for two counsel.

5. Formal Citations

RBG Resources plc (in liquidation) v Banque Cantonale Vaudoise and Others, Suit 1175/2002, [2004] SGHC 167

6. Timeline

Date	Event
2002-05-09	Credit Lyonnais took delivery of the nickel briquettes.
2002-06-12	RBG was put into compulsory liquidation in England.
2002-06-17	Credit Lyonnais sold the nickel briquettes.
2002-12-13	RBG’s claim for the nickel briquettes was filed as an amendment to its statement of claim.
2003-12-22	First offer to settle served by RBG.
2003-12-23	Second offer to settle served by RBG.
2004-01-08	Commencement of trial.
2004-01-09	Third offer to settle served by RBG.
2004-06-07	Judgment declaring RBG the owner of metals and ordering damages for conversion.
2004-08-04	Decision on interest.
2004-08-05	Date from which default interest rate applies.
2004-08-06	Decision Date.

7. Legal Issues

Costs
- Outcome: The court awarded 70% of the costs of RBG’s claim and CL’s counterclaim to RBG on a standard basis up to 9 January 2004, and 70% of such costs on an indemnity basis from 10 January 2004. The court disallowed RBG the costs of preparing and filing certain AEICs and declined to grant a certification of costs for two counsel.
- Category: Procedural
- Sub-Issues:
  - Certification of costs for more than one counsel
  - Entitlement to costs for entire proceedings despite failing on one issue
  - Costs of preparing and filing affidavit of evidence-in-chief
  - Offer to settle and indemnity costs
- Related Cases:
  - [2002] 2 SLR 1
  - [1993] 1 All ER 232
  - [1994] 2 SLR 489
  - [2004] 1 SLR 134
  - [2004] SGDC 42
  - Civil Appeal No 170 of 1998
Conversion
- Outcome: The court ordered CL to pay interest on the agreed quantum from the date of last sale by CL, ie 17 June 2002, to the date of the decision on interest, ie 4 August 2004, at the rate of 3% per annum.
- Category: Substantive
- Sub-Issues:
  - Damages
  - Interest payable on damages
  - Appropriate rate of interest
  - Appropriate date from which interest should run

8. Remedies Sought

Costs
Interest

9. Cause of Actions

Conversion

10. Practice Areas

Commercial Litigation

11. Industries

Commodities Trading

12. Cited Cases

Case Name	Court	Affirmed	Citation	Jurisdiction	Significance
MCST No 473 v De Beers Jewellery Pte Ltd	Court of Appeal	Yes	[2002] 2 SLR 1	Singapore	Cited for the principles governing the award of costs, adopting the principles elucidated in Re Elgindata (No 2).
Re Elgindata (No 2)	N/A	Yes	[1993] 1 All ER 232	N/A	Cited for the principles governing the award of costs, specifically regarding the court's discretion and the consequences of raising unsuccessful issues.
Tullio v Maoro	N/A	Yes	[1994] 2 SLR 489	Singapore	Cited for adopting the principles in Re Elgindata (No 2) regarding the award of costs.
LK Ang Construction Pte Ltd v Chubb Singapore Pte Ltd	N/A	Yes	[2004] 1 SLR 134	Singapore	Cited for the principle that an offer should not be deemed to withdraw a previous offer in the context of costs.
Track-Truss Technologies Pte Ltd v UTi Worldwide (Singapore)	District Court	Yes	[2004] SGDC 42	Singapore	Cited by the defendant regarding the timing of offers to settle and whether they are genuine.
Neo Hock Pheng v Teo Siew Pheng	Court of Appeal	Yes	Civil Appeal No 170 of 1998	Singapore	Cited for factors to consider when awarding costs on an indemnity basis, specifically the timing of the offer to settle.

13. Applicable Rules

Rule Name
No applicable rules

14. Applicable Statutes

Statute Name	Jurisdiction
Sale of Goods Act (Cap 393, 1999 Rev Ed)	Singapore
Rules of Court (Cap 332, R5, 2004 Rev Ed) O 59 r 19	Singapore

15. Key Terms and Keywords

15.1 Key Terms

Conversion
Costs
Indemnity costs
Offer to settle
Certification of costs
Affidavit of evidence-in-chief
Interest
Nickel briquettes

15.2 Keywords

Conversion
Costs
Interest
Offer to settle
Indemnity costs
Singapore
High Court

17. Areas of Law

Area Name	Relevance Score
Civil Practice	75
Conversion	60
Torts	50
Contract Law	30

16. Subjects

Civil Procedure
Costs
Conversion
Damages
Interest