JUDGMENT

(Order 33 Application)

Kenneth St James JC:

Prelusion

[1] There was a previous suit between the parties. A Consent Order was recorded in the previous suit.

[2] The Plaintiff then files this current suit to impeach the Consent Order that was recorded in the previous suit. The Plaintiff asserts that the Consent Order should be set aside on grounds of fraud and misrepresentation on the part of the Defendants.

[3] The Defendants now make an Application under O 33 to determine a preliminary issue that has the effect of prohibiting the Plaintiff from relying on, or even referring to, certain paragraphs in the Plaintiff's Statement Of Claim, on the grounds of res judicata and issue estoppel. The preliminary issue, if it is answered in the affirmative, will have the effect of expunging those paragraphs from the Plaintiff's pleadings. The Plaintiff would then be prevented from proving the facts pleaded in those paragraphs.

[4] Should the Defendants' Order 33 Application be allowed?

The Brief Background Of This Dispute

Suit 173

[5] The starting point is the previous suit between the parties. In 2018, the Plaintiff filed the previous suit against the Defendants. The suit was Penang High Court