TA PRIVATE CAPITAL SECURITY AGENT LIMITED & Anor v UD TRADING GROUP HOLDING PTE. LTD. & Anor

[2023] SGHCR 1 High Court Registrar 30 January 2023 HC/S 624/2020 ( HC/SUM 2377/2022 ) 88 min read
21 cases cited (16 SG, 5 foreign) Cited by 3 cases

Key facts

Court High Court Registrar
Decided
Judge Desmond Chong
Charges / claim Civil Procedure, Credit and Security
Counsel Duxton Hill Chambers, Eldan Law LLC, Eugene Thuraisingam LLP, Kenneth Tan Partnership, Oon & Bazul LLP, Bazul Ashhab, Chan Leng Sun, Chooi Jing Yen, Daniel Koh, Esther Yong, Eugene Thuraisingam, Hamza Malik, Imran Rahim, Kenneth Tan, Lionel Chan, Ng Yuan Siang, Nicholas Chang, Zerlina Yee

Source: [2023] SGHCR 1, High Court Registrar, decided — eLitigation. Updated .

Catchwords

Practice Areas

Judges (1)

Counsel (18)

Parties (4)

Case Significance

TA Private Capital Security Agent Ltd and another v UD Trading Group Holding Pte Ltd and another [2023] SGHCR 1 was decided in the General Division of the High Court by Assistant Registrar Desmond Chong on 30 January 2023, in Suit No 624 of 2020 (Summons No 2377 of 2022). The plaintiffs applied to strike out the entirety of the defences of the first and second defendants (D1 and D2) and for judgment against D1 for USD 63,303,806.66. The plaintiffs' case was that D1's liability arose from a contract titled Guarantee entered into between D1 and D2 on 15 April 2019, under which D1 guaranteed payment by its subsidiaries to D2 for the supply of metal and metal products, and under clause 3.2 provided a separate and independent obligation as sole or principal debtor to pay on demand. The plaintiffs, rather than D2, brought the claim because D2 had purportedly assigned its rights under the Guarantee to them, and they brought no claims against D2. The catchwords concern striking out of pleadings and guarantees and indemnities.

[2023] SGHCR 1 explained

TA PRIVATE CAPITAL SECURITY AGENT LIMITED & Anor v UD TRADING GROUP HOLDING PTE. LTD. & Anor ([2023] SGHCR 1) is a Singapore judgment decided by the High Court Registrar on 30 January 2023. It is categorised under Civil Procedure and Credit and Security. Within this corpus it has since been cited by 3 other reported Singapore judgments, 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] SGHCR 1 about?

TA PRIVATE CAPITAL SECURITY AGENT LIMITED & Anor v UD TRADING GROUP HOLDING PTE. LTD. & Anor ([2023] SGHCR 1) is a High Court Registrar decision from 2023. Its published catchwords are “Civil Procedure — Pleadings — Striking out” and “Credit and Security — Guarantees and indemnities”, which indicate the subject matter the judgment addresses. The full reasoning and orders are in the judgment itself, linked below.

How influential is [2023] SGHCR 1?

Within this corpus, [2023] SGHCR 1 has been cited by 3 later reported Singapore judgments. 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.

Summary

The plaintiffs, assignees of rights under a contract titled "Guarantee", applied to strike out the defences of two defendants and for judgment against the first defendant for USD 63,303,806.66. The central question was whether the Guarantee was an on-demand performance guarantee or a simple guarantee. The Assistant Registrar found the defences plainly unsustainable, struck them out, and granted judgment for the USD 63.3m sum plus interest and costs.

What did the plaintiffs seek in TA Private Capital Security Agent Ltd v UD Trading Group Holding Pte Ltd [2023] SGHCR 1?

The plaintiffs applied to strike out the entire defences of the first and second defendants and for judgment against the first defendant for USD 63,303,806.66, based on a Guarantee dated 15 April 2019 whose rights were purportedly assigned to them.

Why did the plaintiffs bring the claim under the Guarantee ([2023] SGHCR 1)?

The claim was brought by the plaintiffs, rather than the second defendant (D2), because D2 had purportedly assigned its rights under the 15 April 2019 Guarantee to the plaintiffs. The plaintiffs brought no claims against D2. Assistant Registrar Desmond Chong heard the application.

Cases Cited (21)

SG (2)
[2022] SGHC 213 [2022] SGHC(A) 3
SLR (14)
[1997] 3 SLR(R) 649 [1998] 2 SLR(R) 646 [2006] 1 SLR(R) 582 [2007] 1 SLR(R) 377 [2008] 3 SLR(R) 1029 [2010] 3 SLR 267 [2012] 3 SLR 125 [2012] 4 SLR 546 [2015] 1 SLR 325 [2015] 2 SLR 1085 [2015] 2 SLR 540 [2015] 5 SLR 962 [2016] 4 SLR 1079 [2020] 2 SLR 386
UK (4)
[1978] QB 159 [2005] 1 WLR 2497 [2010] EWHC 1905 [2016] EWHC 2957
MY (1)
[1992] 1 MLJ 400

Cited By (3)

Related cases

Other Singapore judgments involving the same parties or counsel.

Referenced in

Judgment

Read the full judgment on the official Singapore Courts portal.

Read on eLitigation

Source: eLitigation ([2023] SGHCR 1)