FANTOM FOUNDATION LTD. v MULTICHAIN FOUNDATION LTD. & Anor

[2024] SGHC 173 High Court (General Division) 8 July 2024 • HC/OC 621/2023 ( HC/AD 2/2024 ) • 34 min read

8 cases cited (5 SG, 3 foreign) Cited by 1 case

Catchwords

Damages — Assessment

Practice Areas

Damages

Judges (1)

Mohamed Faizal Delivered

Counsel (3)

Farallon Law Corporation Firm Ashviniy Narenthiren Counsel Claimant Nicolas Tang Tze Hao Counsel Claimant

Parties (3)

Fantom Foundation Ltd Claimant Multichain Foundation Ltd Defendant Multichain Pte Ltd Defendant

Case Significance

Fantom Foundation Ltd v Multichain Foundation Ltd and another [2024] SGHC 173 was a decision of the General Division of the High Court of Singapore, delivered by Mohamed Faizal JC on 8 July 2024 following a hearing on 3 June 2024. The matter (Originating Claim No 621 of 2023, Assessment of Damages No 2 of 2024) concerned the assessment of damages flowing from a default judgment that Fantom Foundation Ltd, the claimant, had obtained on 30 January 2024 against Multichain Foundation Ltd (the first defendant) and Multichain Pte Ltd (the second defendant).

The default judgment had ordered that damages be assessed ("the damages claim") and that the defendants deliver to the claimant movable property of 4.175m FTM or, alternatively, its value ("the FTM claim"). Having heard the claimant, who was represented by Farallon Law Corporation through Ashviniy Narenthiren and Nicolas Tang Tze Hao, the court awarded US$58,620.55 on the damages claim and US$2,129,250 on the FTM claim, being the sums sought by the claimant. The judgment was tagged under "Damages — Assessment".

Summary

This case concerned the assessment of damages arising from a default judgment obtained by Fantom Foundation Ltd, a Cayman Islands company operating the Fantom Opera Chain, against Multichain Foundation Ltd and Multichain Pte Ltd, who did not participate in the proceedings. The default judgment had granted damages to be assessed and delivery of 4.175m FTM tokens or their value, and the judgment also discussed the challenges of valuing cryptocurrencies. Mohamed Faizal JC accepted the claimant's submissions and ordered the defendants to pay damages of US$58,620.55 and a further US$2,129,250 as the equivalent value of the 4.175m FTM, with costs to be considered separately.

What damages did the court award in Fantom Foundation Ltd v Multichain Foundation Ltd [2024] SGHC 173?

Mohamed Faizal JC awarded Fantom Foundation Ltd US$58,620.55 on the damages claim and US$2,129,250 on the FTM claim. These were the sums sought by the claimant following the default judgment obtained against Multichain Foundation Ltd and Multichain Pte Ltd.

What was the basis of the assessment of damages in [2024] SGHC 173?

The assessment in [2024] SGHC 173 arose from a default judgment obtained on 30 January 2024, which ordered damages to be assessed and delivery of 4.175m FTM (or its value) to claimant Fantom Foundation Ltd against defendants Multichain Foundation Ltd and Multichain Pte Ltd.