Developer gets stay in Country Garden Danga Bay condo defects suit

 Judicial commissioner Budiman Lutfi Mohamed says the trial may prove futile if the developer succeeds in challenging the standing of the plot owners and joint management body.

After weighing the potential prejudice and competing interests, the Johor High Court found that special circumstances existed to justify the stay. (Wikimedia Commons pic)

PETALING JAYA:

The developer of the Country Garden Danga Bay condominium project has obtained a stay of proceedings in a high-stakes dispute over alleged defects at the development, pending an appeal to the Court of Appeal.

The appeal centres on whether individual parcel owners and a joint management body (JMB) have the legal standing and capacity to sue after a management corporation has been established.

Judicial commissioner Budiman Lutfi Mohamed, sitting in the High Court in Johor, granted the stay today following an application by Country Garden Danga Bay Sdn Bhd.

The suit was filed in 2023 by the JMB of Royal Strand & Lovell high-rise residential towers within the Country Garden Danga Bay master development, against the developer over alleged defects involving the common property.

In May, three individual proprietors from Singapore were joined as co-plaintiffs following a High Court order.

Country Garden subsequently appealed against the joinder order, challenging the locus standi and legal capacity of both the JMB and the individual proprietors under the Strata Management Act 2013.

In granting the stay, Budiman said the pending appeal raised a threshold issue which could materially affect whether the proceedings could continue in their present form.

The court was also concerned that allowing the trial to proceed before the appeal was decided could result in considerable and unnecessary expenditure of judicial time, witness attendance, expert preparation and litigation costs.

Budiman said the trial could be rendered wholly or substantially futile if the appeal was ultimately allowed.

The court noted that the reliefs sought were not limited to monetary compensation but included the appointment of an independent engineer and a mandatory order for rectification works to address the alleged defects.

Budiman said physical rectification works carried out before the appeal was determined might not be readily reversible.

However, the court recognised the individual proprietors’ legitimate interest in having the dispute resolved expeditiously, particularly as the proceedings had already been delayed by the transition from the JMB to the management corporation.

After weighing the potential prejudice and competing interests, it found that special circumstances existed to justify the stay.

Leonard Yeoh and Chen Mei Yan appeared for Country Garden, while K Hematharshini represented the JMB and the individual proprietors. - FMT