Animal Concerns v Tan Boon Kwee: Negligence & Duty of Care for Clerk of Works
The Animal Concerns Research & Education Society (Appellant) sued Tan Boon Kwee (Respondent) in the Court of Appeal of Singapore for negligence in his capacity as clerk of works for a construction project. The Appellant alleged the Respondent negligently failed to supervise the levelling of the site, resulting in the use of unsuitable wood chips as landfill, causing pollution and economic loss. The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, finding the Respondent owed a duty of care to the Appellant and breached that duty, causing the Appellant to suffer pure economic loss. Damages are to be assessed by the Registrar.
1. Case Overview
1.1 Court
Court of Appeal1.2 Outcome
Appeal Allowed
1.3 Case Type
Civil
1.4 Judgment Type
Grounds of Decision
1.5 Jurisdiction
Singapore
1.6 Description
Court of Appeal held a clerk of works owed a duty of care to the client for negligent supervision of backfilling, causing economic loss.
1.7 Decision Date
2. Parties and Outcomes
| Party Name | Role | Type | Outcome | Outcome Type | Counsels |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Animal Concerns Research & Education Society | Appellant | Association | Appeal Allowed | Won | |
| Tan Boon Kwee | Respondent | Individual | Appeal Dismissed | Lost |
3. Judges
| Judge Name | Title | Delivered Judgment |
|---|---|---|
| Chao Hick Tin | Justice of the Court of Appeal | No |
| Andrew Phang Boon Leong | Justice of the Court of Appeal | Yes |
| V K Rajah | Justice of the Court of Appeal | No |
4. Counsels
4. Facts
- The Appellant planned to establish an animal shelter on land leased from the Singapore Land Authority.
- The Appellant appointed A.n.A Contractor Pte Ltd as the contractor for the project.
- The Respondent, Tan Boon Kwee, was appointed as the clerk of works/site supervisor for the project.
- Wood chips were used as landfill during the site levelling, causing pollution and contamination.
- The Appellant sued the Respondent for negligently failing to supervise the levelling of the site.
- The Respondent was also the director of A.n.A Contractor Pte Ltd.
5. Formal Citations
- Animal Concerns Research & Education Society v Tan Boon Kwee, , [2011] SGCA 2
- Animal Concerns Research & Education Society v ANA Contractor Pte Ltd and another, , [2010] SGHC 85
6. Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| High Court decision issued | |
| Civil Appeal No 60 of 2010 filed | |
| Judgment reserved | |
| Court of Appeal decision issued |
7. Legal Issues
- Negligence
- Outcome: The Court of Appeal held that the Respondent was in breach of his duty of care to the Appellant, and that, by reason of his negligence, he caused the Appellant to suffer pure economic loss.
- Category: Substantive
- Sub-Issues:
- Breach of duty of care
- Causation
- Remoteness of damage
- Duty of Care
- Outcome: The Court of Appeal held that the Respondent owed the Appellant a duty of care at common law.
- Category: Substantive
- Sub-Issues:
- Assumption of responsibility
- Reliance
- Proximity
8. Remedies Sought
- Monetary Damages
9. Cause of Actions
- Negligence
10. Practice Areas
- Construction Litigation
- Commercial Litigation
11. Industries
- Construction
12. Cited Cases
| Case Name | Court | Affirmed | Citation | Jurisdiction | Significance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Animal Concerns Research & Education Society v ANA Contractor Pte Ltd and another | High Court | Yes | [2010] SGHC 85 | Singapore | Refers to the High Court decision that was appealed from. |
| Spandeck Engineering (S) Pte Ltd v Defence Science & Technology Agency | Court of Appeal | Yes | [2007] 4 SLR(R) 100 | Singapore | Cited for the test for the existence of a duty of care in negligence. |
| X (Minors) v Bedfordshire County Council | House of Lords | Yes | [1995] 2 AC 633 | England | Cited for the principle that there is no common law tort of careless performance of a statutory duty. |
| Connor v Surrey County Council | English Court of Appeal | Yes | [2010] 3 All ER 905 | England | Cited for the principle that the statutory duty which a plaintiff alleges sounds in negligence must have been previously held to give rise to a common law duty of care, or must be so declared by the court adjudicating the matter, applying the test in Spandeck. |
| Cutler v Wandsworth Stadium Ltd | House of Lords | Yes | [1949] AC 398 | England | Cited for the principle that the success of a claim for breach of statutory duty would, in the main, have depended on the construction of the Act in general and s 10(5)(b) in particular, in order to ascertain whether the Legislature impliedly intended to provide a right of civil action to enforce the statutory duty. |
| Ngiam Kong Seng and another v Lim Chiew Hock | Court of Appeal | Yes | [2008] 3 SLR(R) 674 | Singapore | Cited for the application of the Spandeck test. |
| Anns v Merton London Borough Council | House of Lords | Yes | [1978] AC 728 | England | Cited for the two-stage test for establishing a duty of care. |
| Customs and Excise Commissioners v Barclays Bank plc | House of Lords | Yes | [2007] 1 AC 181 | England | Cited as an example of the state of flux of the law in England. |
| Hedley Byrne & Co Ltd v Heller & Partners Ltd | House of Lords | Yes | [1964] 1 AC 465 | England | Cited for the principle of assumption of responsibility. |
| Pacific Associates Inc v Baxter | English Court of Appeal | Yes | [1990] 1 QB 993 | England | Cited for the principle that the presence of an arbitration clause pointed unequivocally to the fact that the parties deliberately wished for their contractual arrangements to exclusively govern their respective liabilities, and to prevent a tortious duty of care which would cut across and be inconsistent with that contractual structure. |
| Henderson and others v Merrett Syndicates Ltd and others | House of Lords | Yes | [1995] 2 AC 145 | England | Cited for the principle that the mere fact that there is a pre-existing contractual relationship or backdrop between the parties should not, in itself, be sufficient to exclude a duty of care on one of them to avoid causing pure economic loss to the other. |
| Caparo Industries Plc v Dickman | House of Lords | Yes | [1990] 2 AC 605 | England | Cited for the three-part test. |
| Murphy v Brentwood District Council | House of Lords | Yes | [1991] 1 AC 398 | England | Cited for the argument that the duties of a site supervisor are clearly set out in s 10 of the Act, and therefore if (as in this case) the actions of a site supervisor or clerk of works fall outside the ambit of s 10, this might indicate that the Legislature did not intend for them to owe any duties in respect of such actions, and that the courts should not therefore seek to superimpose a common law duty of care wider than the statutory duty imposed by s 10, which would (on such reasoning) contradict such legislative intention in the process. |
| JSI Shipping (S) Pte Ltd v Teofoongwonglcloong (a firm) | Court of Appeal | Yes | [2007] 4 SLR(R) 460 | Singapore | Cited for the principle that in determining whether there has been a breach of a duty of care, the standard of reasonable care is to be objectively assessed on the basis of knowledge then reasonably available. |
| Industrial Development Consultants v Cooley Ltd | English High Court | Yes | [1972] 1 WLR 443 | England | Cited for the principle that the knowledge reasonably available to the Respondent qua clerk of works was also the knowledge available to him qua director of A.n.A. |
| Mohan Singh Bhullar & ors v Inderjit Singh Bhullar & anor | English Court of Appeal | Yes | [2003] EWCA Civ 424 | England | Cited for the principle that the knowledge reasonably available to the Respondent qua clerk of works was also the knowledge available to him qua director of A.n.A. |
| Overseas Tankship (UK) Ltd v Morts Dock & Engineering Co Ltd (The Wagon Mound) | Privy Council | Yes | [1961] AC 388 | England | Cited for the test for remoteness of damage in the tort of negligence is that of reasonable foreseeability. |
| Ho Soo Fong v Standard Chartered Bank | Court of Appeal | Yes | [2007] 2 SLR(R) 181 | Singapore | Cited for the test for remoteness of damage in the tort of negligence is that of reasonable foreseeability. |
| Sunny Metal & Engineering Pte Ltd v Ng Khim Ming Eric | Court of Appeal | Yes | [2007] 3 SLR(R) 782 | Singapore | Cited for the test for remoteness of damage in the tort of negligence is that of reasonable foreseeability. |
| Anns and others v Merton London Borough Council | House of Lords | Yes | [1978] 1 AC 728 | England | Overruled by Murphy v Brentwood District Council. |
13. Applicable Rules
| Rule Name |
|---|
| No applicable rules |
14. Applicable Statutes
| Statute Name | Jurisdiction |
|---|---|
| Building Control Act (Cap 29, 1999 Rev Ed) | Singapore |
| Charities Act (Cap 37, 2007 Rev Ed) | Singapore |
15. Key Terms and Keywords
15.1 Key Terms
- Clerk of works
- Site supervisor
- Duty of care
- Negligence
- Backfilling
- Wood chips
- Pollution
- Economic loss
- Spandeck test
15.2 Keywords
- Clerk of works
- Negligence
- Duty of care
- Construction
- Singapore
17. Areas of Law
| Area Name | Relevance Score |
|---|---|
| Negligence | 90 |
| Clerk of Works Duties | 75 |
| Building Control Act | 60 |
| Construction Law | 50 |
| Professional Negligence | 40 |
| Contract Law | 30 |
| Agency Law | 20 |
16. Subjects
- Construction Dispute
- Tort Law
- Negligence