Establishment of negligence requires proving duty of care, breach, and causation resulting in damages.

[1] In this judgment, I will refer to the parties as they are in the Sessions Court (SC).

[2] The two plaintiffs are partners in a firm, "Buildsafe Services & Trading Company' (Buildsafe), which, among others, supplies, installs, tests, commissions and maintains water sprinkler systems

[3] Buildsafe had been appointed by the defendant company (Defendant) to install new water sprinkler points and new rack sprinkler points in the Defendant's warehouse (Warehouse).

[4] The third party company (TP) was Buildsafe's insurer at the material time.

Background

[5] Buildsafe gave a quotation dated 1 October 2014 to the Defendant to install new sprinkler points and new sprinkler point rack at the Warehouse.

[6] The Defendant issued a Purchase Order dated 13 April 2015 to Buildsafe (PO) for the latter to install new sprinkler points and new sprinkler point racks at the Warehouse.

[7] Buildsafe installed new sprinkler points and new sprinkler point racks at the Warehouse. Buildsafe also provided testing, commissioning and maintenance services of the water sprinkler system at the Warehouse (Water Sprinkler System).

[8] After Buildsafe's installation of new sprinkler points and new sprinkler point racks at the Warehouse, Buildsafe tested the Water Sprinkler System on 16 May 2015 (Testing). During the Testing:

(1) there was a leak in the coupling joint of the Water Sprinkler System;

(2) Buildsafe's employee (X) attempted to stop the leak by tightening the coupling joint. However, X failed to reduce the water pressure before tightening the coupling joint and the coupling joint broke;

(3) when the coupling joint broke, high pressure water was discharged into the Warehouse (Incident) which damaged the Defendant's goods kept in the Warehouse (Defendant's Goods). Defendant's Goods consisted of, among others, drugs, medical equipment and health care products; and

(4) as a result of the Incident, the Defendant has suffered a loss of RM180,990.00 (Defendant's Loss) as follows:

(a) damage to the Defendant's Goods amounting to RM175,990.00 (the cost price of the Defendant's Goods paid by the Defendant to its suppliers); and

(b) a sum of RM5,000.00 was incurred by the Defendant to clean up the Warehouse after the Incident (Cleaning Cost).

[9] Due to the Incident, the Defendant did not pay a sum of RM123,499.54 claimed by Buildsafe to be due from the Defendant for Buildsafe's work in the installation and maintenance of the Water Sprinkler System (Buildsafe's Claim).

[10] Buildsafe submitted the Defendant's Loss to the TP, Buildsafe's insurer.

[11] The TP appointed Crawford & Company Adjusters (M) Sdn Bhd (Loss Adjuster) to investigate the Defendant's Loss.

[12] According to the Loss Adjuster, the Defendant's Loss was adjusted to RM48,239.49 (Loss Adjuster's Adjustment).