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2018 MarsdenLR 1002
HIGH COURT MALAYA SHAH ALAM
ECO MAJESTIC SDN BHD – Appellant
Versus
SETIA ECOHILL 2 SDN BHD – Respondent
[Suit No: 22NCVC-677-11/2017]
An ex-parte injunction may be set aside if obtained without sufficient cause or material disclosure, particularly when public interest is at stake.
Headnote:Section 51 of the Specific Relief Act, 1950 governs interlocutory injunctions, mandating judicial discretion based on the merits of the case. The court found that the Plaintiff's ex-parte order lacked bona fides as they failed to show legitimate urgency or full disclosure of material facts. The court upheld the Defendant's argument that the Plaintiff was not entitled to an injunction for obstructing state-sanctioned construction. The injunction was dismissed due to lack of merit and improper conduct by the Plaintiff.
| Table of Content |
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| 1. overview of the developments and parties involved. (Para 1 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7) |
| 2. ex-parte orders require valid urgency and notice. (Para 2 , 3) |
| 3. clarification of legal standards for injunctions. (Para 8 , 12) |
| 4. addressing procedural lapses in obtaining ex-parte orders. (Para 10 , 11 , 16) |
| 5. material misrepresentation affects injunction validity. (Para 13) |
| 6. final determination on the implications of granting the injunction. (Para 15 , 18 , 23 , 26) |
| 7. subject area ownership impacts injunctive relief. (Para 20) |
| 8. public interest considerations outweigh personal claims. (Para 27) |
[1] The present proceedings arose out of an Ex-Parte Injunction Order (Ex-Parte Order) obtained by the Plaintiff on 24 November 2017 vide encl 7 without any prior notice given to the Defendant. The Writ of Summons was only filed on the day before (23 November 2017).
[2] On 30 November 2017, the Defendant filed an application, inter alia, for an order to set aside the Ex-Parte Order pursuant to, inter alia, O 32 r 6 and O 29 r 1 (2B) of the Rules of 2012 ('Setting Aside Application').
[3] The matters for adjudication before this Court were these:
(a) Enclosure 12 - the Defendant's Setting Aside Application;
(b) Enclosure 2 - the Plaintiff's application for an interim injunction which is fixed for inter-parte s hearing.
Material Facts
[4] Both the Plaintiff and the Defendant are wholly owned subsidiary companies of public listed companies. While the Defendant is a subsidiary of SP Setia, a company considered a market leader in property development, the Plaintiff is a subsidiary of Eco World Development Group Bhd ('Eco World') whose main activity is also in property development.
[5] Eco World is controlled by many of SP Setia's former employees leading to rivalry and competitiveness between the 2 entities that developed over the years.
[6] The present dispute revolves around adjacent developments of SP Setia's Setia Ecohill and Setia Ecohill 2 projects and Ecoworld's Eco Majestic project. The former were in SP Setia's maiden township in the Kajang-Semenyih region. About a year after this development, Eco World launched its first township in the Klang Valley called Eco Majestic spread over 1,089 acres in Semenyih.
[7] As to the salient facts of this case, I would adopt the relevant parts of the Defendant's submission as follows:
"The Plaintiff's Eco Majestic development is to be developed on 3 plots of land previously held by the Plaintiff under Geran 47936 Lot 35 Geram 47935 Lot 1252 and Geran 313661 Lot 42195 Mukim Beranang, Daerah Ulu Langat, Selangor Darul Ehsan ('Master Land'), all of which are contiguous with one another.
Prior to undertaking the development of Eco Majestic, the Plaintiff applied for to surrender the master Land for subdivision and re-alienation in accordance with a pre-computation plan (pelan pra-hitungan) which also included a surrender of lands earmarked for public infrastructure and utility.
By letter dated 24 March 2014, the Pejabat Daerah/Tanah Hulu Langat ('Hulu Langat Land Office') informed the Plaintiff that the Selangor State Exco had approved the Plaintiff's application for surrender and re-alienation on, inter alia, the following terms and conditions:
(a) Upon the surrender of the Master Land, the said lands will be re-alienated back to the Plaintiff in accordance with 3 plans approved and certified by Majlis Perbandaran Kajang ('MPKj').
(b) There will not be titles issued for areas surrendered for public utilities/infrastructure, which include "Jalan dan Lorong" measuring a total land area of 193.25 acres, as shown in the Approved Pre-Comp Plan.
Upon completion of the surrender and re-alienation process, the titles for the Master Land were cancelled and new sub-titles were issued.
The Subject Area, which is the subject matter of the Plaintiff's claim, is part of the old Lot 42195 which has since been cancelled by the Hulu Langat Land Office following the completion of the surrender and re-alienation process. The Subject A
