DBKL, developer ordered to pay RM1.3mil to couple for home damage

 The pensioners were forced to rent alternative accommodation for 10 years after piling and excavation works caused cracks and structural damage to their home.

DBKL and developer Fame Modulation Sdn Bhd were ordered to pay RM1.279 million in damages and RM100,000 in costs to the couple whose home in Cheras was damaged during the construction of a 29-storey commercial project.

PETALING JAYA:

The Kuala Lumpur High Court has ordered Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) and a developer under liquidation to pay more than RM1.3 million to a retired couple whose home in Cheras was damaged during the construction of a 29-storey commercial project.

Retired police officer Adnan Azizon and his wife, retired teacher Aziah Ahmad, were forced to move out with their four children and rent alternative accommodation for 10 years after piling and excavation works for Monteno Sovo Suites caused cracks and structural damage to their home, reported The Edge.

In a judgment dated April 24 and uploaded online this month, Justice Gan Techiong ordered developer Fame Modulation Sdn Bhd, through its liquidator, and DBKL, to pay RM1.279 million in damages and RM100,000 in costs to the couple.

The sum comprises RM300,000 in general damages, RM160,000 for rental costs and RM819,000 for repairs and relocation expenses.

Gan said the developer had undertaken to repair the house but failed to do so, forcing the couple to take a Bank Rakyat loan to finance the repairs.

“For a couple in their 60s living on government pensions, being saddled with a substantial loan to repair their house is an onerous burden,” he said in his 46-page judgment.

Gan said DBKL had temporarily halted the project but allowed it to resume without adequate safeguards, despite being aware of the risks.

He dismissed DBKL’s arguments that the couple’s claim was time-barred and should have been brought through judicial review.

“The defendants can be held jointly and severally liable when their wrongful acts are causally intertwined. The damage is indivisible, and each defendant is liable for the entire loss, regardless of their individual conduct,” he ruled.

He added that the Federal Court had also confirmed that joint and several liability applies even if the acts occurred at different times.

Gan also rejected DBKL’s reliance on Section 95(2) of the Street, Drainage and Building Act 1974, saying its negligence justified the delay in repairing the house.

The court, however, dismissed the couple’s claims for aggravated and exemplary damages, saying plaintiffs should not recover more than their actual losses.

Cheow Wee, who represented the couple with Zachary Yeo, confirmed the decision and said the defendants had filed an appeal.

Wilson Lim represented Fame Modulation while Hisham Nan appeared for DBKL. - FMT