Cousins v Royal Bank of Scotland: Redundancy Agreement & Confidentiality Breach

In Cousins Scott William v The Royal Bank of Scotland plc, the High Court of Singapore heard a claim by Mr. Scott William Cousins against his former employer, The Royal Bank of Scotland plc, for breach of a redundancy agreement. The primary legal issue was whether Mr. Cousins's breach of a confidentiality obligation after signing the redundancy agreement constituted a repudiatory breach, allowing the bank to rescind the agreement. The court, presided over by Steven Chong JC, found that while Mr. Cousins did breach his confidentiality obligation, the breach was not repudiatory and ruled in favor of Mr. Cousins, ordering the bank to pay the agreed-upon sum of $455,085.39. The bank's counterclaim was dismissed.

1. Case Overview

1.1 Court

High Court

1.2 Outcome

Judgment for Plaintiff

1.3 Case Type

Civil

1.4 Judgment Type

Grounds of Decision

1.5 Jurisdiction

Singapore

1.6 Description

Scott William Cousins sues The Royal Bank of Scotland for breach of a redundancy agreement. The court found in favor of Cousins.

1.7 Decision Date

2. Parties and Outcomes

Party NameRoleTypeOutcomeOutcome TypeCounsels
Cousins Scott WilliamPlaintiffIndividualJudgment for PlaintiffWonKevin Lim
The Royal Bank of Scotland plcDefendantCorporationCounterclaim DismissedLostEdwin Tong, Lee Bik Wei

3. Judges

Judge NameTitleDelivered Judgment
Steven ChongJudicial CommissionerYes

4. Counsels

Counsel NameOrganization
Kevin LimWee Swee Teow & Co
Edwin TongAllen & Gledhill LLP
Lee Bik WeiAllen & Gledhill LLP

4. Facts

  1. Plaintiff was employed by the defendant as Chief Trader and later as Senior Trader.
  2. Plaintiff signed a Declaration of Secrecy agreeing to maintain confidentiality.
  3. Plaintiff requested to be made redundant after an altercation with a colleague.
  4. Defendant and plaintiff entered into a Redundancy Agreement on 11 May 2009.
  5. After signing the Redundancy Agreement, the plaintiff forwarded two emails containing confidential information to his personal email account.
  6. The defendant discovered the forwarded emails and instructed the plaintiff to delete them, which he did.
  7. The defendant subsequently informed the plaintiff that he was summarily dismissed and no longer entitled to benefits under the Redundancy Agreement.

5. Formal Citations

  1. Cousins Scott William v The Royal Bank of Scotland plc, Suit No 548 of 2009, [2010] SGHC 73

6. Timeline

DateEvent
Letter of offer from the defendant to the plaintiff
Declaration of Secrecy signed by the plaintiff
Plaintiff employed by the defendant as Chief Trader
Plaintiff received stock buyout payments
Plaintiff demoted to Senior Trader
Redundancy Agreement signed
Plaintiff forwarded emails to personal account
Defendant requested explanation for plaintiff's conduct
Plaintiff replied to the defendant
Defendant informed plaintiff of summary dismissal
Plaintiff commenced action against the defendant
Judgment reserved

7. Legal Issues

  1. Breach of Contract
    • Outcome: The court found that while the plaintiff breached his confidentiality obligation, it did not amount to a repudiatory breach of the Redundancy Agreement.
    • Category: Substantive
    • Sub-Issues:
      • Breach of confidentiality obligation
      • Repudiatory breach
    • Related Cases:
      • [2007] 4 SLR(R) 413
      • [2009] 3 SLR(R) 883
  2. Summary Dismissal
    • Outcome: The court found that the summary dismissal had no legal significance since the plaintiff was no longer an employee at the time of the dismissal.
    • Category: Substantive

8. Remedies Sought

  1. Monetary Damages

9. Cause of Actions

  • Breach of Contract

10. Practice Areas

  • Commercial Litigation
  • Employment Litigation

11. Industries

  • Banking
  • Finance

12. Cited Cases

Case NameCourtAffirmedCitationJurisdictionSignificance
RDC Concrete Pte Ltd v Sato Kogyo (S) Pte LtdCourt of AppealYes[2007] 4 SLR(R) 413SingaporeCited for the principles relating to repudiatory breach of contract and the right of termination.
Sports Connection Pte Ltd v Deuter Sports GmbHCourt of AppealYes[2009] 3 SLR(R) 883SingaporeCited to reaffirm the principles in RDC Concrete Pte Ltd regarding repudiatory breach.
Man Financial (S) Pte Ltd (formerly known as E D & F Man International (S) Pte Ltd) v Wong Bark Chuan DavidCourt of AppealYes[2008] 1 SLR(R) 663SingaporeCited for factors to consider when determining whether a contractual term is a condition.

13. Applicable Rules

Rule Name
No applicable rules

14. Applicable Statutes

Statute NameJurisdiction
Banking Act (Cap 19, 2008 Rev Ed)Singapore

15. Key Terms and Keywords

15.1 Key Terms

  • Redundancy Agreement
  • Confidentiality Obligation
  • Summary Dismissal
  • Repudiatory Breach
  • Stock Buyout Payments
  • P&L Information
  • Spot FX Presentation

15.2 Keywords

  • Redundancy
  • Confidentiality
  • Breach of Contract
  • Employment
  • Singapore
  • Banking

16. Subjects

  • Contract Law
  • Employment Law
  • Banking
  • Redundancy

17. Areas of Law

  • Contract Law
  • Employment Law
  • Confidentiality
  • Redundancy Agreements