Purnima Anil Salgaocar v Lakshmi Anil Salgaocar: Appeal on Injunction & Contractual Interpretation

Purnima Anil Salgaocar appealed to the Appellate Division of the High Court of Singapore against a decision by the Judge to grant an injunction in favour of Lakshmi Anil Salgaocar, who is suing as the administratrix of the estate of Anil Vassudeva Salgaocar. The injunction restrained Purnima from commencing or maintaining any action other than for breach of a second settlement agreement until the final disposal of a separate suit. The court allowed the appeal, setting aside the injunction, and holding that Purnima was not restricted to suing for a breach of the second settlement agreement and may commence a separate originating summons.

1. Case Overview

1.1 Court

Appellate Division of the High Court of the Republic of Singapore

1.2 Outcome

Appeal Allowed

1.3 Case Type

Civil

1.4 Judgment Type

Grounds of Decision

1.5 Jurisdiction

Singapore

1.6 Description

Appeal regarding an injunction related to a settlement agreement. The court allowed the appeal, interpreting clauses concerning litigation restrictions.

1.7 Decision Date

2. Parties and Outcomes

Party NameRoleTypeOutcomeOutcome TypeCounsels
Lakshmi Anil Salgaocar (suing as the administratrix of the estate of Anil Vassudeva Salgaocar, deceased)Respondent, ClaimantIndividualAppeal DismissedLost
Purnima Anil SalgaocarAppellant, DefendantIndividualAppeal AllowedWon

3. Judges

Judge NameTitleDelivered Judgment
Woo Bih LiJudge of the Appellate DivisionYes
Aedit AbdullahJudge of the High CourtNo

4. Counsels

Counsel NameOrganization
Kanapathi Pillai NirumalanNiru & Co LLC
Liew Teck HuatNiru & Co LLC
Phang CunkuangNiru & Co LLC
Estad Amber JoyDrew & Napier LLC
Lim GeruiDrew & Napier LLC

4. Facts

  1. A dispute arose between a mother and daughter regarding the estate of the patriarch of the family.
  2. A suit was filed by AVS against DJJ claiming that a trust was created with DJJ as trustee.
  3. AVS passed away intestate and L continued the action as sole administratrix of his estate.
  4. L and P entered into a second settlement agreement.
  5. L was obliged to provide an account of certain assets referred to as the Estate’s Non-India Assets.
  6. P alleged that L breached this provision.
  7. L alleged that by filing OSP 6 itself, P herself was in breach of 2SA.

5. Formal Citations

  1. Purnima Anil Salgaocar v Lakshmi Anil Salgaocar (suing as the administratrix of the estate of Anil Vassudeva Salgaocar, deceased), Civil Appeal No 81 of 2022, [2023] SGHC(A) 21

6. Timeline

DateEvent
Suit filed by AVS against DJJ claiming a trust was created.
AVS passed away intestate.
L and P entered into a settlement agreement.
Start date for account of Non-India Assets.
End date for account of Non-India Assets.
Start date for account of Non-India Assets.
End date for account of Non-India Assets.
L and P entered into a second settlement agreement.
Deadline for L to provide an account of the Estate’s Non-India Assets.
Date of inspection of document provided by L.
P filed an action in the Family Justice Court for an order to direct L to provide the Accounts.
L filed an originating claim alleging P was in breach of the second settlement agreement.
L filed an application to seek an injunction to restrain P.
L filed an application for P's action to be struck out or stayed.
P filed a defence and counterclaim in OC 49.
SUM 2031 was heard and the Judge granted an injunction.
P filed an application for permission to appeal against the Judge’s decision.
The AD granted P permission to appeal.
P filed an appeal against the Judge’s decision.
P filed an application for L to produce certain documents in discovery.
Application for discovery of certain documents was dismissed.
Jeyaretnam J heard the aspect of SUM 3781.
Justice Philip Jeyaretnam dismissed P’s appeal.
Kannan Ramesh JAD rendered his decision in S 821.
P filed her submissions for AD 81.
L’s submissions for AD 81 were filed.
The trial of OC 49 was heard by Jeyaretnam J.
Closing submissions are due to be submitted.
Closing submissions are due to be submitted.

7. Legal Issues

  1. Interpretation of Contractual Clauses
    • Outcome: The court interpreted the clauses in favor of allowing Purnima to commence a separate action.
    • Category: Substantive
    • Sub-Issues:
      • Inconsistency between clauses
      • Scope of litigation restrictions
  2. Enforcement of Negative Covenant
    • Outcome: The court determined that the negative covenant did not preclude Purnima from commencing the action.
    • Category: Substantive

8. Remedies Sought

  1. Injunction
  2. Declaration
  3. Damages
  4. Costs and interest

9. Cause of Actions

  • Breach of Contract

10. Practice Areas

  • Commercial Litigation

11. Industries

  • No industries specified

12. Cited Cases

Case NameCourtAffirmedCitationJurisdictionSignificance
Lakshmi Anil Salgaocar (suing as the administratrix of the estate of Anil Vassudeva Salgaocar, deceased) v Purnima Anil SalgaocarHigh CourtYes[2023] SGHC 49SingaporeThe judgment under appeal. The Judge's decision to grant an injunction was appealed.
RGA Holdings International Inc v Loh Choon Phing Robin and anotherCourt of AppealYes[2017] 2 SLR 997SingaporeCited as a comparison regarding the nature of the injunction sought.
Lakshmi Anil Salgaocar (suing as the administratrix of the estate of Anil Vassudeva Salgaocar) and another v Darsan Jitendra Jhaveri and others (Kwan Ka Yu Terence, third party)High CourtYes[2023] SGHC 47SingaporeMentioned in relation to the status of S 821 and its final determination.
American Cyanamid Co v Ethicon LtdHouse of LordsYes[1975] 1 AC 396England and WalesCited in relation to the principles for granting an injunction.

13. Applicable Rules

Rule Name
Rule 786 of the Family Justice Rules 2014
O 9 r 19 of the Rules of Court 2021

14. Applicable Statutes

Statute NameJurisdiction
No applicable statutes

15. Key Terms and Keywords

15.1 Key Terms

  • Settlement agreement
  • Non-India Assets
  • Accounts
  • Breach of contract
  • Injunction
  • Final determination
  • Originating claim

15.2 Keywords

  • contract
  • injunction
  • settlement agreement
  • estate
  • litigation
  • singapore

17. Areas of Law

Area NameRelevance Score
Contract Law75
Rules of construction65
Civil Litigation60
Appellate Practice60
Enforcement of negative covenant55
Injunctions50
Estate Administration40

16. Subjects

  • Contract Dispute
  • Estate Litigation
  • Civil Procedure