Pemaju dapat tangguh prosiding saman kecacatan kondo Country Garden Danga Bay

Johor High Court has granted a stay on proceedings in the high-profile lawsuit involving Country Garden Danga Bay condominium, following an assessment of the potential bias and interests of both parties. The stay comes as the condominium is awaiting appeal on the issue of whether individual landowners and the Joint Management Body (JMB) have legal standing and capacity to take action following the establishment of the Management Corporation (MC).

Pemaju Country Garden Danga Bay Sdn Bhd filed the lawsuit in 2023 against JMB Royal Strand & Lovell, a high-rise residential tower within the master development of Country Garden Danga Bay, alleging negligence on the common property. In May, three individual plaintiffs from Singapore joined the lawsuit as co-plaintiffs. Country Garden then appealed the stay, challenging JMB's locus standi and legal capacity, as well as the individual plaintiffs' standing under the Strata Management Act 2013.

The court expressed concern that the ongoing appeal might result in significant waste of time, absent witnesses, expert report preparation, and litigation costs. The court also noted that the claim is not merely about financial compensation but also includes the appointment of independent engineers and a mandatory order for remedial work to address the alleged damages.

Physical remedial work already undertaken before the appeal decision may be difficult to revert to its original state. However, the court acknowledged the importance of individual plaintiffs' right to a swift resolution of the dispute, especially given the postponement of proceedings due to the transfer from JMB to MC. After considering the interests and potential prejudice of both parties, the court found that there were special circumstances warranting the stay of the proceedings.

Leonard Yeoh and Chen Mei Yan represented Country Garden, while K Hematharshini represented JMB and the individual plaintiffs.