AROKIASAMY STEVEN JOSEPH & Anor v LEE BOON CHUAN NELSON & 2 Ors

[2023] SGHC 230 High Court (General Division) 25 August 2023 HC/S 833/2020 ( HC/SUM 2331/2023,HC/SUM 2424/2023 )

Cited by 3 cases

Key facts

Court	High Court (General Division)
Decided	25 August 2023
Judge	Choo Han Teck
Charges / claim	Civil Procedure
Counsel	Arbiters Inc Law Corporation, Donaldson & Burkinshaw LLP, Legal Clinic LLC, Red Lion Circle, Anil Narain Balchandani, Felicia Chain, Jasleen Kaur, Joavan Christopher Pereira, Kuah Boon Theng, Samuel Lim Jie Bin, Shenna Tjoa, Thanjit Kaur Sekhon, Vijay Kumar Rai

Source: [2023] SGHC 230, High Court (General Division), decided 25 August 2023 — eLitigation. Updated 10 July 2026.

Catchwords

Civil Procedure – Parties – Joinder Civil Procedure – Payments into and out of court – Solicitor’s fees must be equitable before settlement moneys are ordered to be paid into court

Practice Areas

Civil Procedure

Judges (1)

Choo Han Teck Delivered

Counsel (13)

Arbiters Inc Law Corporation Firm Donaldson & Burkinshaw LLP Firm Legal Clinic LLC Firm Red Lion Circle Firm Anil Narain Balchandani Counsel for the plaintiff

Felicia Chain Counsel for the defendant

Jasleen Kaur Counsel for the plaintiff Joavan Christopher Pereira Counsel for the plaintiff Kuah Boon Theng Counsel for the defendant

Samuel Lim Jie Bin Counsel for the defendant

Shenna Tjoa Counsel for the defendant

Thanjit Kaur Sekhon Counsel for the defendant

Vijay Kumar Rai Counsel for the plaintiff

Parties (5)

Institute of Mental Health Defendant Arokiasamy Steven Joseph Plaintiff

Gomathinayagam Kandasami Defendant

Lee Boon Chuan Nelson Defendant

Tan Kin Tee Plaintiff

Case Significance

Arokiasamy Steven Joseph (administrator of the estate of Salvin Foster Steven, deceased) and another v Lee Boon Chuan Nelson and others [2023] SGHC 230 is a reserved judgment of Choo Han Teck J in the General Division of the High Court, delivered on 25 August 2023 in Suit No 833 of 2020 and Summonses Nos 2331 and 2424 of 2023. The plaintiffs are Mr Arokiasamy Steven Joseph, administrator of the estate of his son Salvin Foster Steven, who died on 7 September 2017 aged 31, and Mr Tan Kin Tee; the defendants are Mr Lee Boon Chuan Nelson, Mr Gomathinayagam Kandasami and the Institute of Mental Health. The judgment addresses the joinder of parties and the principle that a solicitor's fees must be equitable before settlement moneys are ordered to be paid into court.

Summary

The parents of Salvin Foster Steven, who died by suicide in 2017 after a history of mental illness, sued the doctor in charge of his care and the Institute of Mental Health, and the matter came before Choo Han Teck J on summonses concerning payment of settlement moneys into court and joinder. The court observed that the fees claimed by the two sets of solicitors acting for the plaintiffs, together with sums already paid, approached $600,000, almost twice the settlement sum. Choo Han Teck J noted the clients were entitled to have counsel's fees taxed and that the solicitors would need to justify engaging two sets of counsel.

What was Arokiasamy Steven Joseph v Lee Boon Chuan Nelson [2023] SGHC 230 about?

It was a High Court matter before Choo Han Teck J addressing the joinder of parties and whether a solicitor's fees must be equitable before settlement moneys are ordered into court, arising from the death of Salvin Foster Steven, decided on 25 August 2023.

Who were the parties in [2023] SGHC 230?

The plaintiffs were Arokiasamy Steven Joseph, administrator of the estate of Salvin Foster Steven, and Tan Kin Tee; the defendants were Lee Boon Chuan Nelson, Gomathinayagam Kandasami and the Institute of Mental Health, the third defendant.