QBE INSURANCE (SINGAPORE) PTE LTD & Anor v RELAX BEACH CO LTD

Q: Which legislation does [2023] SGCA 45 consider?

The judgment refers to Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act and Restructuring and Dissolution Act. The statutes cited are listed in full on this page, each linking to its primary text.

[2023] SGCA 45 Court of Appeal 21 December 2023 CA/CA 3/2023 ( AD/SUM 44/2022 ) 37 min read

15 cases cited (14 SG, 1 foreign) Cited by 1 case

Key facts

Court	Court of Appeal
Decided	21 December 2023
Judges	Andrew Phang Boon Leong, Sundaresh Menon, Tay Yong Kwang
Charges / claim	Civil Procedure, Contract, Courts and Jurisdiction, Insurance
Counsel	Drew & Napier LLC, Duxton Hill Chambers, Rachel Low LLC, Allister Brendan Tan Yu Kuan, Chan Yun Wen Charmaine, Hendroff Fitzgerald L, Rachel Low Tze-Lynn, Siraj Omar, Toby Landau

Source: [2023] SGCA 45, Court of Appeal, decided 21 December 2023 — eLitigation. Updated 10 July 2026.

Catchwords

Civil Procedure — Costs — Principles Civil Procedure — Costs — Discontinuance of appeal Contract — Contractual terms — Notification of claim as condition precedent Courts and Jurisdiction — Court judgments — Parties settling before court hearing Insurance — General principles — Business interruption policies covering loss resulting from outbreak of disease at the premises Insurance — General principles — Claims for loss suffered in the context of COVID-19 pandemic and Government measures in response

Practice Areas

Civil Procedure Contract Courts and Jurisdiction Insurance

Judges (3)

Andrew Phang Boon Leong Coram Sundaresh Menon Delivered Tay Yong Kwang Coram

Counsel (9)

Drew & Napier LLC Firm Duxton Hill Chambers Firm Rachel Low LLC Firm Allister Brendan Tan Yu Kuan Counsel Respondent Chan Yun Wen Charmaine Counsel Respondent Hendroff Fitzgerald L Counsel Respondent Rachel Low Tze-Lynn Counsel Appellant Siraj Omar Counsel Respondent Toby Landau Counsel Appellant

Parties (3)

MS First Capital Insurance Limited Appellant QBE Insurance (Singapore) Pte Ltd Appellant Relax Beach Co Ltd Respondent

Case Significance

QBE Insurance (Singapore) Pte Ltd and another v Relax Beach Co Ltd [2023] SGCA 45 is a Court of Appeal decision delivered by Sundaresh Menon CJ on 21 December 2023 in Civil Appeal No 3 of 2023, with Tay Yong Kwang JCA and Andrew Phang Boon Leong SJ on the coram. The dispute arose from a COVID-19 business-interruption insurance claim under policies issued by the appellant insurers QBE Insurance and MS First Capital Insurance, in which notification of a claim operated as a condition precedent. After the parties settled before the hearing and the appeal was discontinued, the court addressed the principles governing costs on a discontinued appeal. The judgment has been cited 15 times.

[2023] SGCA 45 explained

QBE INSURANCE (SINGAPORE) PTE LTD & Anor v RELAX BEACH CO LTD ([2023] SGCA 45) is a Singapore judgment decided by the Court of Appeal on 21 December 2023. It is categorised under Civil Procedure, Contract, Courts and Jurisdiction, and Insurance. Within this corpus it has since been cited by 1 other reported Singapore judgment, a measure of how often later decisions have referred to it. This page summarises what the reported decision covers and links the primary sources — the full judgment, the statutes it cites, and the other cases it engages with — so the decision can be read in context. It is reference information, not legal advice, and it does not state the outcome or any holding beyond what the official judgment records.

What is [2023] SGCA 45 about?

QBE INSURANCE (SINGAPORE) PTE LTD & Anor v RELAX BEACH CO LTD ([2023] SGCA 45) is a Court of Appeal decision from 2023. Its published catchwords are “Civil Procedure — Costs — Principles”, “Civil Procedure — Costs — Discontinuance of appeal”, “Contract — Contractual terms — Notification of claim as condition precedent”, and “Courts and Jurisdiction — Court judgments — Parties settling before court hearing”, which indicate the subject matter the judgment addresses. The full reasoning and orders are in the judgment itself, linked below.

Which legislation does [2023] SGCA 45 consider?

The judgment refers to Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act and Restructuring and Dissolution Act. The statutes cited are listed in full on this page, each linking to its primary text.

How influential is [2023] SGCA 45?

Within this corpus, [2023] SGCA 45 has been cited by 1 later reported Singapore judgment. That count reflects references from other decisions held in this corpus only and is a conservative lower bound on how often the case has actually been cited.

What was QBE Insurance (Singapore) v Relax Beach Co Ltd [2023] SGCA 45 about?

It was a Court of Appeal matter arising from a COVID-19 business-interruption insurance claim between insurers QBE and MS First Capital and Relax Beach Co Ltd. After the parties settled before the hearing, Sundaresh Menon CJ addressed costs principles on the discontinued appeal.

Who decided QBE Insurance v Relax Beach Co Ltd [2023] SGCA 45?

The Court of Appeal panel comprised Sundaresh Menon CJ, who delivered the judgment on 21 December 2023, together with Tay Yong Kwang JCA and Andrew Phang Boon Leong SJ, in Civil Appeal No 3 of 2023 concerning insurance and costs on discontinuance.

Statutes Cited

Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act Cases on this Act →

Restructuring and Dissolution Act Cases on this Act →

Cases Cited (15)

SG (2)

[2006] SGHC 195 [2021] SGCA 36

SLR (12)

[2009] 4 SLR(R) 155 [2009] 4 SLR(R) 732 [2016] 3 SLR 1006 [2016] 5 SLR 103 [2018] 1 SLR 1 [2018] 2 SLR 1156 [2019] 1 SLR 10 [2021] 1 SLR 1135 [2022] 1 SLR 434 [2022] 4 SLR 371 [2023] 1 SLR 1648 [2023] 4 SLR 1529

UK (1)

[2021] 2 WLR 123