An appeal by Normila Sdn Bhd and a co-defendant, was dismissed by the High Court on Thursday, upholding a summary judgement in favour of Sinohydro-Pahaytc Joint Venture Sdn Bhd in a construction contract dispute.
The case, presided over by Judicial Commissioner (JC) Edward Timothy Starbuck Woolley, centred on a subcontract agreement for the source improvement works related to the Brunei/Muara/Tutong districts water supply, specifically the Ulu Tutong Dam – Bridge Works project.
The dispute began after the completion of the project, which had an original contract sum of BND3,487,099.80.
The plaintiff, Sinohydro-Pahaytc Joint Venture, claimed outstanding payments totalling BND271,455.89 after adjusting for partial payments received during the project.
The defendants, however, contended that they were owed BND76,976.98, factoring in various deductions, including the cost of a specific piece of machinery, the YD7 Full Hydraulic Multi Function Hammer.
JC Woolley noted that the plaintiff had already accounted for the machinery cost in their final calculations, nullifying the defendants’ counterclaim. The court found significant evidence implicating the second defendant, despite not being a direct party to the subcontract.
Financial records and communications demonstrated the second defendant’s integral role in the contractual and payment processes.
JC Woolley in his judgement affirmed that the defendants’ arguments lacked merit, thereby justifying the summary judgement initially granted by Registrar Mohammad Marzuqi bin Sabtu on January 17. The appeal was dismissed with costs awarded to the plaintiff.
Normila was represented by Cedric Loo and Navrita Kaur of Messrs Raed Lim, while Veronica Rajakanu and Pao Jia Wan represented Sinohydro-Pahaytc Joint Venture. – Fadley Faisal
