TAN YEW HUAT v SIN JOO HUAT HARDWARE PTE LTD

Case Significance

Tan Yew Huat v Sin Joo Huat Hardware Pte Ltd and another matter [2024] SGCA 27 was a Court of Appeal decision delivered on 7 August 2024, with Steven Chong JCA delivering the grounds of decision of the court, sitting with Belinda Ang Saw Ean JCA and Woo Bih Li JAD. The two appeals, Civil Appeal No 22 of 2023 and Civil Appeal No 3 of 2024, concerned disputes between two siblings over a property at 16 Simon Walk beneficially owned by a company, Sin Joo Huat Hardware Pte Ltd, of which both siblings were directors and shareholders. The property had been purchased with funds from the company and registered in the names of the two siblings as tenants-in-common in equal shares.

The High Court judge had dismissed the winding-up petition on the basis that voluntary winding up was available and should have been invoked instead, and had also dismissed the claim for specific performance of a Settlement Agreement for the transfer of the legal and beneficial interest in the property from one sibling to the other. The claim for specific performance had been resisted on the factual basis that the Settlement Agreement was not concluded between the siblings. The catchwords identified issues of winding up of companies and mistake of fact in contract. The appellant Tan Yew Huat was represented by Kang Kok Boon, Favian of Adelphi Law Chambers LLC, and Tan Bar Tien of B T Tan & Co appeared as counsel for the intervener.