DFD v DFE & Anor

Case Significance

DFD v DFE and another [2024] SGHCR 4 was decided in the General Division of the High Court by AR Perry Peh on 1 March 2024. The matter arose from Originating Application No 222 of 2023 (with Summonses Nos 2987 of 2023 and 346 of 2024), in which the claimant DFD had applied under section 19 of the International Arbitration Act 1994, read with Order 48 rule 6 of the Rules of Court 2021, to enforce an arbitral award obtained against the respondents DFE and DFF. The claimant obtained permission to enforce the award by HC/ORC 1189/2023, and the second respondent applied to set that order aside.

As framed by the catchwords, the decision concerned civil procedure relating to disclosure of documents and to peremptory orders. In SUM 2987, the second respondent sought production of eight categories of documents said to be material to the set-aside application; by an oral judgment on 20 November 2023, AR Perry Peh had allowed seven of the eight categories and ordered the claimant to file a list of documents and provide copies within stipulated timeframes. The claimant was represented by Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP and Genesis Law Corporation, with counsel including Kelvin Poon and Devathas Satianathan, while the respondents were represented by Audent Chambers LLC and Breakpoint LLC, with counsel including Jordan Tan and Nicholas Poon. The judgment cited 14 authorities and referred to the Arbitration Act and the International Arbitration Act.