INVEST-HO PROPERTIES PTE LTD v KARUPPIAH TANAPALAN & Anor

INVEST-HO PROPERTIES PTE LTD v KARUPPIAH TANAPALAN & Anor

The Statement of Claim was struck out because, notwithstanding that findings of the Court of Three Judges are not technically binding on the High Court, those findings — made after detailed analysis and on a higher standard of proof — established that the transaction was unlicensed moneylending rendering the contract illegal; permitting the civil claim to proceed would be an abuse of process and the claim is scandalous, frivolous and vexatious and therefore must be struck out under O 18 r 19(1)(b) and (d).

Citation
[2017] SGHCR 20
Parties
Plaintiff / Respondent: Invest-Ho Properties Pte Ltd; Defendant / Applicant: Karuppiah Tanapalan; Defendant / Applicant: Vimala Devi d/o Selvadurai
Court
High Court Registrar
Jurisdiction
Singapore
Judgment Date
22 November 2017
Case Number
S 843/2013 ( HC/SUM 3684/2017 )
Procedural Posture
Civil Suit for Specific Performance of Sale of Property and Related Strike Out Application / Application to Strike Out Statement of Claim Determined by Assistant Registrar
Outcome
Statement of Claim struck out
Legal Topics
Striking Out, Abuse of Process, Issue Estoppel, Illegality, Disciplinary Proceedings, Specific Performance
Source Language
English
Civil Procedure Legal Profession Contract Criminal Law (moneylending) Striking Out Abuse of Process Issue Estoppel Illegality +2 more

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Parties

Invest-Ho Properties Pte Ltd

Plaintiff / Respondent

Karuppiah Tanapalan

Defendant / Applicant

Vimala Devi d/o Selvadurai

Defendant / Applicant

Procedural Posture

Civil Suit for Specific Performance of Sale of Property and Related Strike Out Application / Application to Strike Out Statement of Claim Determined by Assistant Registrar

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the Statement of Claim is scandalous, frivolous or vexatious under O 18 r 19(1)(b)
  2. 2 Whether the Statement of Claim is an abuse of process under O 18 r 19(1)(d)
  3. 3 Whether findings in Court of Three Judges (Leong Pek Gan) give rise to issue estoppel or otherwise bar the civil claim

Ratio Decidendi

The Statement of Claim was struck out because, notwithstanding that findings of the Court of Three Judges are not technically binding on the High Court, those findings — made after detailed analysis and on a higher standard of proof — established that the transaction was unlicensed moneylending rendering the contract illegal; permitting the civil claim to proceed would be an abuse of process and the claim is scandalous, frivolous and vexatious and therefore must be struck out under O 18 r 19(1)(b) and (d).

Court Disposition

Statement of Claim struck out

Orders

  • Strike out the Statement of Claim pursuant to O 18 r 19(1)(b) and O 18 r 19(1)(d) of the Rules of Court
  • Parties to be heard on costs