Chor Pee & Partners v Wee Soon Kim Anthony: Taxation of Legal Costs Dispute
In Chor Pee & Partners v Wee Soon Kim Anthony, the High Court of Singapore addressed a petition by Chor Pee & Partners, a solicitor firm, for the taxation of bills of costs against their client, Anthony Wee, concerning legal services in a misrepresentation suit, an appeal, and related matters. Wee applied to strike out the petition, arguing a written agreement capped the fees. The court, Lai Siu Chiu J, granted the petition and dismissed Wee's application, finding no binding written agreement on legal fees and that the petition complied with the Legal Profession Act.
1. Case Overview
1.1 Court
High Court1.2 Outcome
Petition granted; respondent's application to strike out the petition dismissed.
1.3 Case Type
Civil
1.4 Judgment Type
Grounds of Decision
1.5 Jurisdiction
Singapore
1.6 Description
Solicitor firm Chor Pee & Partners sought taxation of costs against client Anthony Wee. The court granted the petition, finding no binding written agreement on fees.
1.7 Decision Date
2. Parties and Outcomes
| Party Name | Role | Type | Outcome | Outcome Type | Counsels |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wee Soon Kim Anthony | Respondent | Individual | Application dismissed | Lost | |
| Chor Pee & Partners | Petitioner | Partnership | Petition granted | Won |
3. Judges
| Judge Name | Title | Delivered Judgment |
|---|---|---|
| Lai Siu Chiu | Judge | Yes |
4. Counsels
| Counsel Name | Organization |
|---|---|
| Ling Leong Hui | Arul Chew and Partners |
| Andre Arul | Arul Chew and Partners |
4. Facts
- The Petitioner, a law firm, sought to tax bills of costs for services rendered to the Respondent.
- The Respondent claimed a written agreement capped legal fees at $275,000, which he had already paid.
- The Petitioner argued no agreement existed and sought taxation of costs for five matters.
- The Respondent previously had a dispute with another law firm, Engelin Teh & Partners, over fees.
- The Respondent alleged the Petitioner did not disclose financial problems before being retained.
- The Respondent argued emails exchanged constituted a written agreement under the Legal Profession Act.
- The Petitioner contended the emails did not form a binding agreement and the Respondent's conduct showed no agreement.
5. Formal Citations
- Chor Pee & Partners v Wee Soon Kim Anthony, POC 3/2005, [2005] SGHC 101
6. Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| Respondent sued UBS AG for misrepresentation. | |
| Respondent approached Lim Chor Pee to take over conduct of the Suit. | |
| LCP tried to get the respondent to agree in writing on the legal fees payable to the Petitioner. | |
| Respondent's claim for a refund of fees paid to Gerald Godfrey QC became contentious. | |
| Respondent’s claim was dismissed by Kan Ting Chiu J. | |
| Bill of Costs No 112 of 2003 and Civil Appeal No 114 of 2002 regarding the application for admission of Gerald Godfrey QC arose. | |
| Appellate court dismissed the Appeal. | |
| Respondent issued statutory demands against LCP and Marc Lim. | |
| The first four invoices were hand-delivered to the respondent. | |
| Invoice no 99005 was delivered to the respondent. | |
| Hearing of the OSBs. | |
| Petitioner’s solicitors wrote to the respondent’s solicitors regarding taxation of the five invoices. | |
| Respondent did not consent to the taxation of all five invoices of the petitioner. | |
| The Petitioner filed Petition of Course No 3 of 2005. | |
| Respondent applied for the Petition to be struck out. | |
| LCP filed his first affidavit. | |
| Hearing before me. | |
| Hearing before me. | |
| Respondent wrote in for further arguments. | |
| LCP filed a second affidavit. | |
| Decision Date |
7. Legal Issues
- Existence of a Binding Agreement on Legal Fees
- Outcome: The court held that no binding agreement on legal fees existed between the parties due to lack of compliance with section 111(2) of the Legal Profession Act and the respondent's conduct indicating disagreement with the proposed fees.
- Category: Substantive
- Sub-Issues:
- Validity of agreement based on email exchange
- Compliance with section 111 of the Legal Profession Act
- Interpretation of conduct in relation to agreement
- Related Cases:
- [1986] SLR 510
- [1982] 3 All ER 188
- Compliance with Section 120 of the Legal Profession Act
- Outcome: The court held that the petition complied with section 120(1) of the Legal Profession Act and that Order 38 r 2(2) of the Rules of Court did not apply to a Petition of Course.
- Category: Procedural
- Sub-Issues:
- Timeliness of petition
- Requirement of affidavit support
8. Remedies Sought
- Leave to tax bills of costs
9. Cause of Actions
- Taxation of Costs
10. Practice Areas
- Taxation of Costs
- Commercial Litigation
11. Industries
- Legal Services
12. Cited Cases
| Case Name | Court | Affirmed | Citation | Jurisdiction | Significance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shamsudin bin Embun v PT Seah & Co | High Court | Yes | [1986] SLR 510 | Singapore | Cited regarding the enforcement of an agreement on legal fees and the requirements for a valid agreement under the Legal Profession Act. |
| Chamberlain v Boodle & King | UK Court of Appeal | Yes | [1982] 3 All ER 188 | United Kingdom | Cited for the principle that an agreement on legal fees must be specific in its terms and signed by the client to be considered a contentious business agreement. |
| SM Integrated Transware Pte Ltd v Schenker Singapore Pte Ltd | High Court | Yes | [2005] SGHC 58 | Singapore | Cited by the respondent to argue that e-mails containing a typed name amount to a signature, but the court distinguished it, stating that the decision was not based on the lack of a signature. |
13. Applicable Rules
| Rule Name |
|---|
| Rules of Court (Cap 322, R 5, 2004 Rev Ed) |
14. Applicable Statutes
| Statute Name | Jurisdiction |
|---|---|
| Legal Profession Act (Cap 161, 2001 Rev Ed) | Singapore |
| Bankruptcy Act (Cap 20, 2000 Rev Ed) | Singapore |
| Civil Law Act (Cap 43, 1999 Rev Ed) | Singapore |
| Electronic Transactions Act (Cap 88, 1999 Rev Ed) | Singapore |
15. Key Terms and Keywords
15.1 Key Terms
- Taxation of costs
- Petition of course
- Legal fees agreement
- Written agreement
- Bill of costs
- Legal Profession Act
- Affidavit
- Retainer
- Interim bills
- Statutory demands
15.2 Keywords
- legal profession
- bill of costs
- taxation
- agreement
- fees
17. Areas of Law
| Area Name | Relevance Score |
|---|---|
| Assessment of Legal Costs | 90 |
| Legal Profession Act | 90 |
| Civil Procedure | 30 |
| Contract Law | 20 |
| Taxation of Legal Fees | 20 |
16. Subjects
- Legal Costs
- Contract Law
- Civil Procedure