BMG v BMH: Division of Matrimonial Assets and Maintenance Dispute

In BMG v BMH, the High Court of Singapore addressed the issue of costs following a judgment on the division of matrimonial assets and maintenance. The plaintiff/wife sought costs and disbursements, arguing that the judgment was in her favor. The defendant/husband disagreed, contending that the judgment favored him. Choo Han Teck J found that there was no clear winner and ordered each party to bear its own costs and disbursements, and to share the costs of the reports. The court also ordered the defendant to execute necessary documents to transfer properties in Thailand to the plaintiff.

1. Case Overview

1.1 Court

High Court

1.2 Outcome

Each party to bear its own costs and disbursements, and to share the costs of the reports.

1.3 Case Type

Family

1.4 Judgment Type

Grounds of Decision

1.5 Jurisdiction

Singapore

1.6 Description

High Court case concerning the division of matrimonial assets and maintenance. The court ordered each party to bear its own costs, finding no clear winner.

1.7 Decision Date

8 June 2014

2. Parties and Outcomes

Party Name	Role	Type	Outcome	Outcome Type	Counsels
BMG	Plaintiff	Individual	Each party to bear its own costs and disbursements	Neutral	Jimmy Yim of Drew & Napier LLC Dennis Chua Soon Chai of Dennis Chua & Co
BMH	Defendant	Individual	Each party to bear its own costs and disbursements	Neutral	Tan Yew Cheng of Leong Partnership LLP

3. Judges

Judge Name	Title	Delivered Judgment
Choo Han Teck	J	Yes

4. Counsels

Counsel Name	Organization
Jimmy Yim	Drew & Napier LLC
Dennis Chua Soon Chai	Dennis Chua & Co
Tan Yew Cheng	Leong Partnership LLP

4. Facts

The plaintiff sought $150,000 in costs, $5,159.58 in disbursements, $4,708 for the Health Sciences Authority report, and $44,708.84 for the accountant’s report.
The defendant argued that each party should bear its own costs of the ancillary matters hearing, save as to the expenses of the HSA and accountant’s reports, which should be borne by the plaintiff.
The plaintiff's offer to settle included the defendant paying a lump sum of $800,000 and each party paying their own legal costs.
The final judgment included the defendant paying the plaintiff a sum of $434,000 and a monthly maintenance of $8,000 for 18 months.

5. Formal Citations

BMG v BMH, Divorce Transferred No 6149 of 2009, [2014] SGHC 112
BMG v BMH, , [2013] SGHC 244

6. Timeline

Date	Event
2009-01-01	Divorce Transferred No 6149 of 2009
2012-06-29	Plaintiff offered to settle the matter with the defendant
2013-11-13	Judgment dated (BMG v BMH [2013] SGHC 244)
2014-06-09	Judgment reserved

7. Legal Issues

Costs
- Outcome: The court ordered each party to bear its own costs and disbursements, and to share the costs of the reports.
- Category: Procedural

8. Remedies Sought

Costs
Disbursements

9. Cause of Actions

No cause of actions

10. Practice Areas

Divorce
Family Law
Matrimonial Assets Division
Maintenance

11. Industries

No industries specified

12. Cited Cases

Case Name	Court	Affirmed	Citation	Jurisdiction	Significance
BMG v BMH	High Court	No	[2013] SGHC 244	Singapore	Previous judgment in the same case regarding division of matrimonial assets and maintenance.

13. Applicable Rules

Rule Name
O 59 r 3(2) of the Rules of Court

14. Applicable Statutes

Statute Name	Jurisdiction
No applicable statutes

15. Key Terms and Keywords

15.1 Key Terms

Costs
Disbursements
Matrimonial assets
Maintenance
Ancillary matters

15.2 Keywords

Divorce
Costs
Matrimonial Assets
Maintenance

17. Areas of Law

Area Name	Relevance Score
Divorce	95
Matrimonial Assets	95
Family Law	90
Maintenance	80
Costs	70

16. Subjects

Family Law
Divorce
Costs