Kalzip Asia v BFG International: GRP Panel Defects & Breach of Contract

Kalzip Asia Pte Ltd, the Plaintiff, sued BFG International Ltd, the Defendant, in the High Court of Singapore, Suit No 610 of 2013, on 29 June 2018, for breach of contract relating to alleged defects in glass-reinforced plastic (GRP) panels installed on the Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort Development. Kalzip claimed that BFG failed to produce GRP panels that met the structural performance and fire safety requirements of the Sub-Contract. The court dismissed Kalzip’s claim.

1. Case Overview

1.1 Court

High Court of the Republic of Singapore

1.2 Outcome

Plaintiff's claim dismissed

1.3 Case Type

Civil

1.4 Judgment Type

Judgment

1.5 Jurisdiction

Singapore

1.6 Description

Kalzip Asia sued BFG International over defective GRP panels in the Marina Bay Sands project. The court dismissed Kalzip's claim for breach of contract.

1.7 Decision Date

28 June 2018

2. Parties and Outcomes

Party Name	Role	Type	Outcome	Outcome Type	Counsels
MARINA BAY SANDS PTE LTD	Other	Corporation
Kalzip Asia Pte Ltd	Plaintiff	Corporation	Claim Dismissed	Dismissed	Ang Wee Jian of MPillay Mohan Pillay of MPillay Yeo Boon Tat of MPillay Joanna Seetoh of MPillay
BFG International Ltd	Defendant	Corporation	Judgment for Defendant	Won	Soh Lip San of Rajah & Tann LLP Tan Yu Inn Shannon of Rajah & Tann LLP Rebecca Lim of Rajah & Tann LLP

3. Judges

Judge Name	Title	Delivered Judgment
Quentin Loh	Judge	Yes

4. Counsels

Counsel Name	Organization
Ang Wee Jian	MPillay
Mohan Pillay	MPillay
Yeo Boon Tat	MPillay
Joanna Seetoh	MPillay
Soh Lip San	Rajah & Tann LLP
Tan Yu Inn Shannon	Rajah & Tann LLP
Rebecca Lim	Rajah & Tann LLP

4. Facts

Kalzip contracted with MBS to provide a roofing system for three buildings.
Kalzip engaged BFG to supply glass-reinforced plastic-faced aluminium panels for the Project.
Kalzip complained that delamination of the GRP panels had been observed during installation.
MBS lost confidence in the panels and decided to replace them with aluminium panels.
MBS deducted S$8,685,495.74 from Kalzip’s final account for costs incurred due to the defective GRP panels.
Kalzip commenced arbitration against MBS and later settled for S$5.5m.
Kalzip then sued BFG for S$14,040,957.64 for breach of contract and S$4,874,319.45 in restitution.

5. Formal Citations

Kalzip Asia Pte Ltd v BFG International Ltd, Suit No 610 of 2013, [2018] SGHC 152

6. Timeline

Date	Event
2008-05-28	Kalzip signed a Trade Contract with Marina Bay Sands Pte Ltd
2008-08-28	Kalzip engaged BFG to supply glass-reinforced plastic-faced aluminium panels
2009-01-01	Kalzip installed panels on the casino building roof
2010-01-01	Kalzip installed panels on the MICE building roof
2010-01-01	Kalzip complained of delamination of the GRP panels
2011-03-01	MBS omitted the theatre panels from Kalzip’s scope of works
2011-03-15	MBS informed Kalzip that it had appointed a third party contractor to remove and replace the GRP panels
2011-04-28	MBS instructed Craft Facade Pte Ltd to remove the GRP panels and install replacement aluminium panels
2011-07-04	Kalzip commenced arbitration proceedings against MBS
2013-02-26	Kalzip and MBS entered into a Settlement Agreement
2013-05-30	Kalzip sent a letter of demand to BFG for the sum of S$13m
2013-07-11	Kalzip commenced the Suit against BFG
2018-06-29	Judgment reserved

7. Legal Issues

Breach of Contract
- Outcome: The court held that the Plaintiff had not proven that the Defendant breached the contract.
- Category: Substantive

8. Remedies Sought

Monetary Damages
Restitution

9. Cause of Actions

Breach of Contract
Restitution

10. Practice Areas

Commercial Litigation
Construction Dispute

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
Sale of Goods Act	Singapore

15. Key Terms and Keywords

15.1 Key Terms

GRP panels
Delamination
Sub-Contract
Structural performance
Fire safety
Deflection
Honeycomb core
Inner skin
MBS
Kalzip Roofing System

15.2 Keywords

GRP panels
delamination
breach of contract
construction
Singapore
Marina Bay Sands

17. Areas of Law

Area Name	Relevance Score
Breach of Contract	95
Contract Law	90
Construction Law	70
Contractual terms	60
Construction Litigation	60
Construction	50
Fire Safety Engineering	40
Arbitration	40
Evidence	30
Architectural Engineering	30
Damages	30
Measure of Damages	20

16. Subjects

Construction Dispute
Contract Law
Defective Materials