1. ) KHONG YOON LOONG 2. ) AGNES LEE LAI HENG 3. ) NG CHEE SIEW 4. ) IRENE HARTANTO @ TAN HIAN LIE 5. ) CHAN YIK LONG 6. ) HO YEE KARM 7. ) LIU KWAI LIEN 8. ) KONG CHOONG HON 9. ) LIM KA TIN 10. ) JAMAL MOHAMED PADIYATH 11. ) FOONG KIM SEON

1. ) KHONG YOON LOONG 2. ) AGNES LEE LAI HENG 3. ) NG CHEE SIEW 4. ) IRENE HARTANTO @ TAN HIAN LIE 5. ) CHAN YIK LONG 6. ) HO YEE KARM 7. ) LIU KWAI LIEN 8. ) KONG CHOONG HON 9. ) LIM KA TIN 10. ) JAMAL MOHAMED PADIYATH 11. ) FOONG KIM SEON

Applications for stay were dismissed because applicants failed to prove the existence of valid arbitration agreements with each of the 162 plaintiffs and many defendants are non-parties to alleged arbitration agreements so s.10 AA2005 is inapplicable; granting partial stays would cause split litigation, risk inconsistent findings and amount to abuse of process; the court therefore refused to stay and exercised its jurisdiction to hear the whole dispute.

Citation
WA-22NCC-627-11/2022 (Mahkamah Tinggi)
Parties
Plaintiffs: KHONG YOON LOONG & 161 OTHERS; 1st Defendant: ASIA PLANTATION CAPITAL PTE LTD; 2nd Defendant: AGARWOOD ORIGINALS MALAYSIA BERHAD; 3rd Defendant: APC PLANTATIONS SDN BHD; 4th Defendant: ASIA PLANTATION CAPITAL MANAGEMENT CO. LTD; 5th Defendant: ASIA PLANTATION SINGAPORE PTE LTD; 6th Defendant: APS ASIA PLANTATION BHD; 7th Defendant: FORESTRY FIRST SDN BHD; 8th Defendant: BARRY ALLAN RAWLINSON; 9th Defendant: STEVEN MALCOLM WATTS; 10th Defendant: MARK RICHARD LAMB; 11th Defendant: CHOO CHIN THYE; 12th Defendant: LIM SIEW PENG; 13th Defendant: NEILSON NAVIN A/L ANTHONY ALOYSIUS; 14th Defendant: CHONG WAI CHEE; 15th Defendant: KODI ISPARAN A/L KANDASAMY; 16th Defendant: NG OOI SHIN @ IRENE NG; 17th Defendant: TAN SEE SANG; 18th Defendant: LIM SEE FWANG; 19th Defendant: CHONG WEI KIONG; 20th Defendant: SURAYA BINTI ALI; 21st Defendant: POH WEE HON; 22nd Defendant: SYED MOHD AIZAT BIN SYED MOHD ZAINI; 23rd Defendant: TUNKU NAQUIYUDDIN IBNI TUANKU JA’AFAR YAM; 24th Defendant: CTCHOO CAPITAL ADVISOR SDN BHD; 25th Defendant: ASIA PLANTATION CAPITAL HOLDINGS COMPANY LIMITED
Court
High Court
Jurisdiction
Malaysia
Judgment Date
19 September 2023
Case Number
WA-22NCC-627-11/2022 (Mahkamah Tinggi)
Procedural Posture
Civil Suit (commercial Division) / High Court Determination of Multiple Stay Applications Under Section 10 Arbitration Act 2005; Applications Dismissed
Outcome
All specified stay applications dismissed
Legal Topics
Stay Pending Arbitration, Non Parties to Arbitration Agreement, Split Litigation, Abuse of Process, Section 9 and Section 10 Arbitration Act 2005
Source Language
Malay/English
Arbitration Civil Procedure Contract Law Commercial Law Stay Pending Arbitration Non Parties to Arbitration Agreement Split Litigation Abuse of Process +1 more

Case Brief

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Parties

KHONG YOON LOONG & 161 OTHERS

Plaintiffs

ASIA PLANTATION CAPITAL PTE LTD

1st Defendant

AGARWOOD ORIGINALS MALAYSIA BERHAD

2nd Defendant

APC PLANTATIONS SDN BHD

3rd Defendant

ASIA PLANTATION CAPITAL MANAGEMENT CO. LTD

4th Defendant

ASIA PLANTATION SINGAPORE PTE LTD

5th Defendant

APS ASIA PLANTATION BHD

6th Defendant

FORESTRY FIRST SDN BHD

7th Defendant

BARRY ALLAN RAWLINSON

8th Defendant

STEVEN MALCOLM WATTS

9th Defendant

MARK RICHARD LAMB

10th Defendant

CHOO CHIN THYE

11th Defendant

LIM SIEW PENG

12th Defendant

NEILSON NAVIN A/L ANTHONY ALOYSIUS

13th Defendant

CHONG WAI CHEE

14th Defendant

KODI ISPARAN A/L KANDASAMY

15th Defendant

NG OOI SHIN @ IRENE NG

16th Defendant

TAN SEE SANG

17th Defendant

LIM SEE FWANG

18th Defendant

CHONG WEI KIONG

19th Defendant

SURAYA BINTI ALI

20th Defendant

POH WEE HON

21st Defendant

SYED MOHD AIZAT BIN SYED MOHD ZAINI

22nd Defendant

TUNKU NAQUIYUDDIN IBNI TUANKU JA’AFAR YAM

23rd Defendant

CTCHOO CAPITAL ADVISOR SDN BHD

24th Defendant

ASIA PLANTATION CAPITAL HOLDINGS COMPANY LIMITED

25th Defendant

Procedural Posture

Civil Suit (commercial Division) / High Court Determination of Multiple Stay Applications Under Section 10 Arbitration Act 2005; Applications Dismissed

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether applicants established valid and binding arbitration agreements with each of the 162 plaintiffs
  2. 2 Whether Section 10 Arbitration Act 2005 applies to non-parties to arbitration agreements
  3. 3 Whether a stay should be granted where overlap of claims between parties and non-parties risks split litigation and inconsistent findings

Ratio Decidendi

Applications for stay were dismissed because applicants failed to prove the existence of valid arbitration agreements with each of the 162 plaintiffs and many defendants are non-parties to alleged arbitration agreements so s.10 AA2005 is inapplicable; granting partial stays would cause split litigation, risk inconsistent findings and amount to abuse of process; the court therefore refused to stay and exercised its jurisdiction to hear the whole dispute.

Court Disposition

All specified stay applications dismissed

Orders

  • Enc 18, Enc 21, Enc 24, Enc 26 and Enc 28 dismissed
  • Costs awarded: RM3,000 for each dismissed application subject to allocator