Doka Formwork v Grandbuild Construction: Formwork Rental Dispute over Defects & Delay

In a suit before the High Court of Singapore, Doka Formwork Pte Ltd sued Grandbuild Construction Pte Ltd for unpaid rental of formwork, the unpaid price of consumables, and damages to formwork. Grandbuild counterclaimed for losses arising from Doka's late delivery of formwork and defects in its design. The court ruled in favor of Doka Formwork, awarding them $432,443.66 after deducting payments already made by Grandbuild. The court dismissed Grandbuild's counterclaims.

1. Case Overview

1.1 Court

High Court of the Republic of Singapore

1.2 Outcome

Judgment for Plaintiff

1.3 Case Type

Civil

1.4 Judgment Type

Judgment

1.5 Jurisdiction

Singapore

1.6 Description

Doka Formwork sued Grandbuild Construction for unpaid formwork rental. Grandbuild counterclaimed for losses from late delivery and defective design. The court ruled in favor of Doka.

1.7 Decision Date

2. Parties and Outcomes

Party NameRoleTypeOutcomeOutcome TypeCounsels
Doka Formwork Pte LtdPlaintiffCorporationJudgment for PlaintiffWon
Grandbuild Construction Pte LtdDefendantCorporationCounterclaim DismissedLost

3. Judges

Judge NameTitleDelivered Judgment
Andrew AngSenior JudgeYes

4. Counsels

Counsel NameOrganization
Wee XunjiCK Tan & Co
Gan Kam YuinBih Li & Lee LLP
Eu Li LianBih Li & Lee LLP

4. Facts

  1. Doka Formwork supplied formwork to Grandbuild Construction for a warehouse project.
  2. The parties entered into a Principal Contract in January 2014 for the supply of formwork.
  3. Two variation orders were subsequently signed for the supply of formwork for the cargo and passenger lift cores.
  4. The Defendant informed the Plaintiff of changes to the project drawings in July 2014.
  5. The Plaintiff offered a variation order to amend the formwork design, but the Defendant rejected it.
  6. The Defendant used a forklift to reposition the formwork for the higher floors.
  7. The Defendant failed to attend joint inspections for damaged materials.

5. Formal Citations

  1. Doka Formwork Pte Ltd v Grandbuild Construction Pte Ltd, Suit No 434 of 2015, [2016] SGHC 248

6. Timeline

DateEvent
Principal Contract signed
Defendant emailed Plaintiff structural drawings
Plaintiff emailed slab and column formwork drawings to Defendant
Defendant requested first delivery of formwork
Plaintiff commenced delivery of formwork
Plaintiff sent draft drawings of cargo and passenger lift cores
Confirmed dimensions for cargo lift core sent to Plaintiff
Plaintiff replied with preliminary formwork drawings for cargo lift core
Defendant asked Plaintiff to proceed with liftcore material delivery
Cargo Lift Quotation signed
Plaintiff started delivering materials for cargo lift core
Defendant sent Plaintiff details of passenger lift core
Defendant asked Plaintiff to proceed with passenger lift core
Passenger Lift Quotation signed
Defendant emailed Plaintiff updated drawings of Project site
Plaintiff started delivering formwork for passenger lift core
Parties concluded a contract for the Plaintiff to supply 1000 beam connector plates
Parties concluded a contract for the Plaintiff to supply one set of Staxo 40 Frame
Defendant informed Plaintiff to start preparing formwork drawings for third storey
Plaintiff sent Defendant slab formwork drawing for third storey
Plaintiff sent a variation order to the Defendant
Plaintiff sent Defendant minutes of meeting dated 21 November 2014
Plaintiff emailed the Defendant regarding damaged materials
Plaintiff issued Payment Claim No 11
Settlement negotiations began
Returns of formwork completed
Judgment reserved

7. Legal Issues

  1. Breach of Contract
    • Outcome: The court found that the Plaintiff did not breach the contract by delaying delivery of the lift core formwork or by providing defective formwork.
    • Category: Substantive
    • Sub-Issues:
      • Failure to deliver formwork on time
      • Defective formwork design
  2. Damages
    • Outcome: The court awarded damages to the Plaintiff for unpaid rental, consumables, and damage to formwork.
    • Category: Substantive
    • Sub-Issues:
      • Damages for defects
      • Damages for delay in completion
  3. Unfair Contract Terms
    • Outcome: The court held that the contractual clauses regarding the condition of delivered goods and the binding nature of the Plaintiff's findings were not unreasonable under the Unfair Contract Terms Act.
    • Category: Substantive
  4. Pleadings
    • Outcome: The court found that the Defendant was not irreparably prejudiced by the Plaintiff's failure to plead the specific clauses in the contract which it is presently relying on.
    • Category: Procedural
    • Related Cases:
      • [2015] 5 SLR 1422

8. Remedies Sought

  1. Monetary Damages

9. Cause of Actions

  • Breach of Contract
  • Unpaid Rental
  • Damages for Defects

10. Practice Areas

  • Construction Law
  • Commercial Litigation

11. Industries

  • Construction

12. Cited Cases

Case NameCourtAffirmedCitationJurisdictionSignificance
V Nithia (co-administratrix of the estate of Ponnusamy Sivapakiam, deceased) v Buthmanaban s/o Vaithilingam and anotherCourt of AppealYes[2015] 5 SLR 1422SingaporeCited for the importance of adhering to the rules of pleadings and the court's discretion to allow reliance on unpleaded points where no irreparable prejudice would be caused.
Kay Lim Construction & Trading Pte Ltd v Soon Douglas (Pte) Ltd and anotherN/AYes[2013] 1 SLR 1SingaporeCited for the principle that courts should be less quick to intervene on the ground of unreasonableness when dealing with two commercial entities.

13. Applicable Rules

Rule Name
No applicable rules

14. Applicable Statutes

Statute NameJurisdiction
Unfair Contract Terms Act (Cap 396, 1994 Rev Ed)Singapore

15. Key Terms and Keywords

15.1 Key Terms

  • Formwork
  • Rental
  • Delivery Notes
  • Staxo Frame
  • Beam Connector Plates
  • Lift Core
  • Variation Order
  • Joint Inspection
  • Structural Drawings

15.2 Keywords

  • formwork
  • construction
  • rental
  • defects
  • delay
  • Singapore
  • contract

17. Areas of Law

Area NameRelevance Score
Construction Law90
Damages80
Breach of Contract60
Contract Law50

16. Subjects

  • Construction Dispute
  • Contract Law
  • Building and Construction Law
  • Formwork Rental