VMAX MARINE PTE. LTD. v SINGAPORE SALVAGE ENGINEERS PTE LTD

Case Significance

VMax Marine Pte Ltd v Singapore Salvage Engineers Pte Ltd and another appeal [2024] SGHC 208 was decided by Kwek Mean Luck J in the General Division of the High Court on 15 August 2024, in District Court Appeal No 40 of 2023, with hearings on 9 July and 14 August 2024 and judgment reserved. After oral judgment was delivered on the merits and costs in HC/DCA 40/2023, the appellant, VMax Marine Pte Ltd, wrote to the court asking that the costs order for the trial below be varied, raising three issues: first, whether the court was functus officio; second, even if not, whether VMax was disentitled from raising an appeal against the costs order below because it had not filed a notice of appeal for this and had not raised it in its submissions before the court ruled on the merits and costs of DCA 40; and third, if not disentitled, whether the court should exercise its discretion to vary the costs order below.

The underlying proceedings, DC/DC 779/2021, saw VMax bring claims against Singapore Salvage Engineers Pte Ltd arising out of a contract for salvage master and consultancy services, with SSE counterclaiming that VMax had breached the same contract; the learned District Judge dismissed all of VMax's claims and allowed SSE's counterclaim in part, and both parties appealed. The catchwords concerned civil procedure, appeals, notice, appeals against a costs order, and inherent jurisdiction. VMax was represented by DennisMathiew, with counsel including Gerard Nicholas and Justin Ng, while SSE was represented by Oon & Bazul LLP, with counsel including Eoon Zizhen, Benedict (Wen Zizhen) and Tanjeetpal Singh Khaira.