JUDGMENT

Indra Nehru Savandiah J:

Introduction

[1] Both suits BA-22NCVC-506-12/2020 and BA-22NCVC-530-12/2020 were heard together in accordance with a court order dated 19 July 2021.

[2] The plaintiff's case mainly involves three key individuals named as defendants in the current lawsuits. The plaintiff alleges that these persons engaged in unlawful and unauthorised actions, which resulted in the plaintiff suffering losses.

[3] The plaintiff further contends that these defendants lacked the legal authority to present themselves as office bearers of the Joint Management Body, thereby unlawfully collecting and utilising funds, as well as entering into contracts with the 4th Defendant unlawfully.

[4] The plaintiff claims that the defendants' conduct led to the misappropriation of funds and other unlawful activities.

[5] The defendants strongly deny all allegations made by the plaintiff.

[6] A consent judgment was duly entered between the plaintiff and the 4th Defendant on 2 February 2024.

[7] This court has allowed the plaintiff's case with costs.

[8] The defendants are dissatisfied with this court's decision and have initiated the current appeal process.

Salient Facts Of The Case

[9] The plaintiff is a statutory body responsible for managing Rhythm Avenue Condominium and 19 USJ City Mall (hereinafter referred to as the Strata Development).

[10] Before the plaintiff assumed responsibility for managing and maintaining the Rhythm Avenue Condominium and 19 USJ City Mall, those duties were handled by the 19 USJ City Mall and Rhythm Avenue Joint Management Body (hereinafter referred to as JMB), which was in charge of overseeing both properties.

[11] The defendants were beneficial proprietors in the aforementioned Strata Development. They were elected as Management Committee Members alongside five other proprietors at the 4th Annual General Meeting of the JMB, held on 16 January 2016.

[12] The 1st Defendant was appointed as the Chairman, the 2nd Defendant as the Treasurer, and the 3rd Defendant assumed the role of Secretary following the resignation of Kelvin Cheng Yew Chee.

[13] The JMB has not convened annual general meetings since its last AGM in 2016, contrary to the requirements of the Strata Management Act 2013.

[14] The other five elected proprietors of the Management Committee Members did not resume their roles as committee members when their terms expired on 15 January 2019, in accordance with the statutory requirements of the Strata Management Act 2013. However, the 1st to 3rd Defendants failed to do so.

[15] It is the plaintiff's case that these three defendants misappropriated the JMB funds during their unlawful tenure in office.

[16] The JMB accounts have not been audited since 1 June 2016. The plaintiff argues that the accounts were not audited because the three defendants feared that the property owners would uncover the misappropriation of funds within the JMB.

[17] A civil lawsuit was commenced against the three defendants, with a court order dated 12 November 2019 stating as follows:

"17.1 satu perintah injunksi interim terhadap defendan-defendan sama ada melalui dirinya sendiri, ejen-ejennya, orang-orang gajinya atau sebaliknya daripada mengeluarkan (withdrawing) dan atau memindahkan wang dari akaun-akaun defendan pertama berikut sehingga Mesyuarat Agung Tahunan ke-5 (AGM ke-5) diadakan dan dipanggil.

17.2 satu perintah bahawa pembayaran dalam Lampiran A dibayar oleh United Overseas Bank (Malaysia) kepada pihak-pihak yang dinamakan dalam Lampiran A." (refer to B1, Enc 130, pp 575-579)."

[18] Another ad-interim injunction order dated 26 November 2019 states as follows:

"18.1 satu perintah injunksi interim terhadap defendan pertama untuk mengisukan Notis untuk memanggil AGM ke-5 dalam masa 7 hari dari tarikh perintah Mahkamah ini kepada kesemua pemilik-pemilik dan Notis tersebut kepada pemilik-pemilik ditandatangani oleh Rimbun Corporate Advisory Sdn Bhd (Pelikuidasi mewakili Pemaju) untuk mengadakan AGM ke-5 bagi defendan pertama;

18.2 satu p