A litigant can be declared vexatious if they habitually file baseless claims, leading to abuse of court process, as per the Courts of Judicature Act 1964.

JUDGMENT

Mohd Firuz Jaffril J:

[1] The following are the grounds of judgment of this Court in relation to the Applicant's application for inter alia declaration that the Defendant is a vexatious litigant and other ancillary orders relating to following:

a. Charge registration no 46513/2002 ("the Charge") under the land known as H.S.(D) 152242, Lot. No 25012, Bandar Petaling Jaya, Daerah Petaling, Negeri Selangor ("the Land");

b. the order dated 23 June 2006 issued by the High Court in KL High Court Originating Summons No S7-24-2516-2004; and

c. the Order for Sale dated 8 September 2020 issued by the KL High Court vide Permohonan Pelaksanaan No WA-38-266-03/2020.

Introduction

[2] The factual matrix forming the background of the case are set out below:

(i) On 28 September 1995, Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia Berhad ("SCB') granted a loan to the Defendant to buy the property. In return, the Defendant charged the property to SCB as security for the said loan. Soon after, the Defendant defaulted on the loan forcing SCB to initiate Order for Sale ("OFS") proceedings against the Defendant to recover the property;

(ii) The Defendant opposed the application for the OFS. Despite so, the OFS was granted on 23 June 2006. The Defendant appealed against the OFS to the Court of Appeal. Due to the non-attendance by the Defendant at the hearing of the appeal, the same was struck out on 7 May 2010;

(iii) On 20 November 2007, SCB and the Plaintiff obtained a vesting order from the Kuala Lumpur High Court where all of SCB's rights over the property was vested in the Plaintiff;

(iv) On 13 June 2014, the Defendant initiated a Writ of Summons in the Shah Alam High Court against SCB and the Plaintiff to, among others, declare that the charge is void and unenforceable. This suit was struck out on 29 September 2014 and 29 October 2014 by Justice Hadhariah binti Syed Ismail (now JCA) on the basis that the action was res judicata and abuse of Court process. The Defendant appealed against the decision of Justice Hadhariah to the Court of Appeal and later to Federal Court. Both appeals were dismissed accordingly;

(v) In 2017, the Defendant once again filed another Writ of Summons in the Kuala Lumpur High Court to declare the charge void and unenforceable. The suit was heard and dismissed under O 14A of the ROC 2012 on 18 January 2019. The Defendant's appeal was dismissed by the Court of Appeal and the Federal Court; and

(vi) In 2020, the Defendant again filed another Writ of Summons in the Shah Alam High Court vide Civil Suit No: BA-22NCVC-386-09/2020 ("the 2020 Writ") seeking the same declaration as in the 2014 and the 2017 Writ Action. This led to the Plaintiff filing the present OS.

Note: The 2020 Writ was struck out by this Court on 25 October 2022 premised on the principles of res judicata and abuse of Court Process.

Summary Of The Plaintiff's Grounds In Support Of The Present OS

[3] The Plaintiff's contend that the Defendant fits the definition of a 'vexatious litigant' as:

a. he has habitually and persistently filed legal proceedings on the same issue in Court with no regard to merit and decisions of the various courts involved including the Court of Appeal and the Federal Court;

b. he has no reasonable course of action;

c. his claim is caught by res judicata; and

d. his claim is time barred.

[4] The Defendant's contention that the Stay of Execution which he obtained at the Court of Appeal vide a Notice of Motion dated 27 July 2007 was of a permanent effect and hence there was no requirement for him to pursue his appeal. This is clear misconception as the stay was granted pending the disposal of the Main Appeal. When the Main Appeal was dismissed by Justice Hadhariah Binti Syed Ismail in 2014, the Stay Order cased to have any legal force or effect.

[5] Without this Court granting the reliefs sought, the Defendant will continue to ignore whatever decisions made by the Courts and continue to file his case via different forums in hope of permanently delaying the auction o