JUDGMENT

Hishamudin Mohd Yunus J:

[1] Enclosure 32 is an appeal by the 1st defendant against the decision of the learned senior assistant registrar who had dismissed the 1st defendant's application to strike out the plaintiff's statement of claim pursuant to O. 18 r. 19 of the Rules of the High 1980 .

[2] I have dismissed the appeal with cost and I shall now give my grounds.

[3] The 1st defendant is a legal firm - a partnership. At the material time the 2nd and 3rd defendants were advocates and solicitors and were the only two partners of the firm/partnership.

[4] The material facts largely are not disputed. In June 1997 the plaintiff company, intending to purchase a piece of property from a developer, deposited with the 1st defendant a sum of RM680,000. This money was meant to be a payment of a deposit by the plaintiff in connection with the intended land transaction with the developer; and it was held on trust by the 1st defendant. The 1st defendant, upon receipt of the deposit, was to prepare the sale and purchase agreement to be entered into between the plaintiff/purchaser and the developer/vendor. The 1st defendant was thereafter to pay the deposit to the developer/vendor upon the