Jonathan Stuart Hall v Rapyd Pte Ltd

Case Significance

Hall, Jonathan Stuart v Rapyd Pte Ltd [2024] SGHC 49 was decided in the General Division of the High Court on 23 February 2024, with judgment reserved and delivered by Kwek Mean Luck J after hearings on 29 January and 21 February 2024. The matter arose in Originating Claim No 78 of 2023 (Registrar's Appeal No 276 of 2023), where the defendant, Rapyd Pte Ltd, had applied to strike out paragraphs 22 and 36 of the statement of claim of the claimant, Mr Jonathan Stuart Hall, together with his Further and Better Particulars served on 30 June 2023, on the basis that they related to communications protected by without prejudice privilege. The disputed communications concerned a meeting on 29 August 2022 between Mr Hall and Rapyd's Chief Executive Officer, Mr Arik Shtilman. The judgment records that the Assistant Registrar below had struck out the pleaded communications that took place after the 29 August Meeting, but declined to strike out the pleaded communications that took place before or at the meeting, as well as later communications to the extent they related to commissions. The case addressed the principles of without prejudice privilege, the circumstances in which that privilege may be disapplied where there is an admission of liability, and the threshold for finding an oral admission of liability on disputed facts. The defendant was represented by counsel from Allen & Gledhill LLP, including Tan Kai Liang and Chia Su Min Rebecca, and the claimant by August Law Corporation.