STAR ENGINEERING PTE LTD v POLLISUM ENGINEERING PTE LTD & Anor

[2024] SGHC 137 High Court (General Division) 24 May 2024 • HC/OA 1135/2023 ( HC/RA 4/2024 ) • 33 min read

8 cases cited Cited by 1 case

Catchwords

Arbitration — Stay of court proceedings — Case management stay Arbitration — Stay of court proceedings — Court’s discretion under Arbitration Act

Practice Areas

Arbitration

Judges (1)

Wong Li Kok, Alex Delivered

Counsel (13)

Drew & Napier LLC Firm GH LLC Firm Tito Isaac & Co LLP Firm Chong Yi Mei (Zhang Yimei) Counsel First Respondent Hsu Bi-Wei Counsel Applicant Isaac Tito Shane Counsel First Respondent Jawharilal Balachandran Counsel Second Respondent Julia Emma Cruz Counsel Second Respondent Li Shunhui Daniel Counsel Second Respondent Tay Eu-Yen Counsel Applicant Timothy Homer Counsel Applicant Wong Hin Pkin Wendell Counsel Applicant Yeo Cai Yun Kimberly Counsel First Respondent

Parties (3)

Great Eastern General Insurance Limited Respondent Pollisum Engineering Pte Ltd Respondent Star Engineering Pte Ltd Applicant

Case Significance

Star Engineering Pte Ltd v Pollisum Engineering Pte Ltd and another [2024] SGHC 137 was decided by the General Division of the High Court of Singapore on 24 May 2024 in Originating Application No 1135 of 2023 (Registrar's Appeal No 4 of 2024), with Wong Li Kok, Alex JC delivering the grounds of decision after a hearing on 20 February 2024. The matter was the first respondent's appeal against the assistant registrar's decision in HC/SUM 3431/2023 dismissing its application for a stay of HC/OA 1135/2023 on the basis that the parties had agreed to submit their disputes to arbitration. The applicant Star Engineering Pte Ltd and the first respondent Pollisum Engineering Pte Ltd are Singapore-incorporated building construction companies; on or around 25 September 2019 Pollisum engaged Star as its contractor for the design, construction and maintenance of works for a project. The court ruled in favour of keeping the parties to their promise to arbitrate, addressing the court's discretion under the Arbitration Act and the question of a case management stay.

Summary

Star Engineering Pte Ltd and Pollisum Engineering Pte Ltd, both Singapore construction companies, were in dispute over a building project, with Great Eastern General Insurance Limited involved as the party that issued an on-demand performance bond. The matter concerned Pollisum's appeal against an assistant registrar's refusal to stay the court proceedings in favour of arbitration, raising the tension between an arbitration agreement and the court's discretion under the Arbitration Act. The court allowed a stay of the proceedings between the applicant and Pollisum and granted a case management stay as between the applicant and the insurer, finding no exceptional circumstances or sufficient reason to deny effect to the arbitration agreement.

What was Star Engineering v Pollisum Engineering [2024] SGHC 137 about?

Decided on 24 May 2024 by Wong Li Kok, Alex JC, the case was an appeal over whether court proceedings in HC/OA 1135/2023 should be stayed in favour of arbitration. The court ruled in favour of holding the parties to their agreement to arbitrate their construction dispute.

Who were the parties in Star Engineering v Pollisum Engineering [2024] SGHC 137?

The applicant was Star Engineering Pte Ltd, represented by Drew & Napier LLC. The first respondent was Pollisum Engineering Pte Ltd, represented by Tito Isaac & Co LLP, and the second respondent was Great Eastern General Insurance Limited, represented by GH LLC.