COMPANIA DE NAVEGACION PALOMAR, S.A. & 5 Ors v ERNEST FERDINAND PEREZ DE LA SALA

[2025] SGHC 153 High Court (General Division) 7 August 2025 • HC/S 398/2018 ( HC/SUM 975/2025 ) |HC/OS 594/2018 ( HC/SUM 971/2025 ) |S 178/2012 ( HC/SUM 970/2025 ) • 12 min read

11 cases cited (9 SG, 2 foreign)

Catchwords

Abuse of Process — Riddick principle

Practice Areas

Abuse of Process

Judges (1)

Chua Lee Ming Delivered

Counsel (7)

K&L Gates Straits Law LLC Firm Providence Law Asia LLC Firm TSMP Law Corporation Firm Eva Teh Jing Hui Counsel Defendant Lim Li Xuan Sherlyn Counsel Plaintiff Lim Seok Koon Stacey Counsel Plaintiff Loo Yinglin Bestlyn Counsel Defendant

Parties (9)

COMPANIA DE NAVEGACION PALOMAR, S.A. Plaintiff COSMOPOLITAN FINANCE CORPORATION [BVI] Plaintiff DOMINION CORPORATION S.A. Plaintiff JOHN MANNERS AND CO (MALAYA) PTE LTD Plaintiff JOHN MANNERS AND COMPANY LIMITED Plaintiff PENINSULA NAVIGATION COMPANY (PRIVATE) LIMITED [BVI] Plaintiff STRAITS MARINE COMPANY PRIVATE LIMITED [BVI] Plaintiff ERNEST FERDINAND PEREZ DE LA SALA Defendant ISABEL BRENDA KOUTSOS Defendant

Case Significance

[2025] SGHC 153 is a High Court (General Division) decision dated 7 August 2025 concerning Abuse of Process, specifically addressing riddick principle. The judgment was delivered by Chua Lee Ming. The case was brought by COMPANIA DE NAVEGACION PALOMAR, S.A. and others (plaintiff) against ERNEST FERDINAND PEREZ DE LA SALA and others (defendant). Legal representation was provided by TSMP Law Corporation and K&L Gates Straits Law LLC. The judgment cites 11 cases (9 Singapore, 2 foreign).

Summary

Six companies sought permission under the Riddick principle to disclose documents from three Singapore proceedings for use in Canadian proceedings against a third party who allegedly assisted in misappropriating corporate assets. The court granted the applications, finding a strong countervailing public interest in ensuring relevant evidence was available for the Canadian proceedings, which were a logical continuation of the recovery efforts.

What was decided in [2025] SGHC 153?

[2025] SGHC 153 (COMPANIA DE NAVEGACION PALOMAR, S.A. & 5 Ors v ERNEST FERDINAND PEREZ DE LA SALA) is a High Court (General Division) decision from 7 August 2025 addressing Abuse of Process, specifically riddick principle. The judgment was delivered by Chua Lee Ming.

Who were the parties in COMPANIA DE NAVEGACION PALOMAR, S.A. & 5 Ors v ERNEST FERDINAND PEREZ DE LA SALA?

The plaintiff in [2025] SGHC 153 was COMPANIA DE NAVEGACION PALOMAR, S.A., COSMOPOLITAN FINANCE CORPORATION [BVI], and the defendant was ERNEST FERDINAND PEREZ DE LA SALA, ISABEL BRENDA KOUTSOS. Legal representation included Providence Law Asia LLC and K&L Gates Straits Law LLC. The case was decided on 7 August 2025 in the High Court (General Division).

Which judge decided [2025] SGHC 153?

[2025] SGHC 153 was delivered by Chua Lee Ming in the High Court (General Division) on 7 August 2025. The case concerned Abuse of Process.

What cases and statutes does [2025] SGHC 153 cite?

[2025] SGHC 153 cites 11 prior decisions, including 2 from foreign jurisdictions.

Cases Cited (11)

SG (3)

[2020] SGCA 64 [2020] SGHC 59 [2024] SGHC 299

SLR (6)

[2005] 3 SLR(R) 555 [2018] 1 SLR 894 [2018] 2 SLR 215 [2020] 2 SLR 695 [2020] 2 SLR 912 [2021] 2 SLR 584

UK (2)

[1977] QB 881 [1991] 1 WLR 756

Judgment

Read the full judgment on the official Singapore Courts portal.

Read on eLitigation

Source: eLitigation ([2025] SGHC 153)