Management Corporation v Lee Mow Woo: Negligence in Structural Design of Northlink Development

In a case before the High Court of Singapore on May 3, 2011, Management Corporation Strata Title Plan No 2757 sued Lee Mow Woo, a consultant engineer, for negligence in the structural design of Northlink Development. The plaintiff alleged that the defendant's design resulted in defects in expansion joints, lift motor rooms, and mezzanine floors. The court found the defendant negligent regarding the expansion joints and surrounding areas, ordering damages to be assessed. The court also awarded damages by consent for defects in the lift motor rooms and mezzanine floors.

1. Case Overview

1.1 Court

High Court

1.2 Outcome

Judgment for the plaintiffs.

1.3 Case Type

Civil

1.4 Judgment Type

Grounds of Decision

1.5 Jurisdiction

Singapore

1.6 Description

The High Court found Lee Mow Woo negligent in the structural design of Northlink Development, leading to defects in expansion joints. Damages were awarded to Management Corporation.

1.7 Decision Date

2 May 2011

2. Parties and Outcomes

Party Name	Role	Type	Outcome	Outcome Type	Counsels
Management Corporation Strata Title Plan No 2757	Plaintiff	Corporation	Judgment for the plaintiffs	Won	Tan Teng Muan, Wong Khai Leng, Sharifah Farhana Binte Hasan Alsagoff
Lee Mow Woo (practising under the firm of Engineers Partnership)	Defendant	Individual	Damages to be assessed	Lost	Lee Chin Seon, Ng Thin Wah

3. Judges

Judge Name	Title	Delivered Judgment
Lee Seiu Kin	J	Yes

4. Counsels

Counsel Name	Organization
Tan Teng Muan	Mallal & Namazie
Wong Khai Leng	Mallal & Namazie
Sharifah Farhana Binte Hasan Alsagoff	Mallal & Namazie
Lee Chin Seon	C S Lee
Ng Thin Wah	Timothy Ong Lim & Partners

4. Facts

The plaintiff is the management corporation of Northlink Development.
The defendant carried out the civil, structural, and foundation design for the Development.
The plaintiff claimed the defendant's design was negligent, resulting in defects.
The alleged defects were in expansion joints, lift motor rooms, and mezzanine floors.
The parties settled on items (b) and (c) with the defendant agreeing to pay the plaintiff damages of $49,000 in relation to the lift motor rooms and $5,225 in relation to the mezzanine floors.
The trial proceeded on item (a), viz the expansion joints and surrounding areas.
Cracks were discovered at the ends of several beams as well as at the edges of some corbels.

5. Formal Citations

Management Corporation Strata Title Plan No 2757 v Lee Mow Woo (practising under the firm of Engineers Partnership), Suit No 845 of 2008, [2011] SGHC 112

6. Timeline

Date	Event
2008-01-01	Suit filed (Suit No 845 of 2008)
2011-05-03	Judgment reserved
2011-05-03	Judgment issued

7. Legal Issues

Negligence in structural design
- Outcome: The court found the defendant liable for negligence due to inadequacies in the design of the expansion joints.
- Category: Substantive
- Sub-Issues:
  - Failure to comply with British Standards Institution's Code of Practice BS 8110:Part 1:1985
  - Inadequate design of corbel/beam configurations at expansion joints
  - Failure to account for thermal expansion and shrinkage and creep

8. Remedies Sought

Damages
Indemnification

9. Cause of Actions

Negligence

10. Practice Areas

Construction Defect Litigation

11. Industries

Construction

12. Cited Cases

Case Name	Court	Affirmed	Citation	Jurisdiction	Significance
No cited cases

13. Applicable Rules

Rule Name
No applicable rules

14. Applicable Statutes

Statute Name	Jurisdiction
No applicable statutes

15. Key Terms and Keywords

15.1 Key Terms

Expansion joints
Corbels
Beams
British Standards Institution
BS 8110:Part 1:1985
Rebars
Bearing pad
Finite element analysis
Thermal expansion
Shrinkage
Creep

15.2 Keywords

Negligence
Structural Design
Construction
Defects
Expansion Joints
Northlink Development

16. Subjects

Construction Dispute
Structural Engineering
Negligence

17. Areas of Law

Construction Law
Negligence
Structural Engineering