Business Debt Claims

Singapore Law; Legal; Lawyer

Businesses (creditors) who wish to make a claim against another business (debtors) for a debt arising from contract should follow the State Courts’ pre-action protocol for business-to-business debt claims (the “Protocol“).

A creditor must comply with the framework in the Protocol before commencing any lawsuit in the State Courts.

A debtor must respond to a letter of claim within 14 days of receipt (or the timeline in the letter if earlier).

The Protocol stipulates certain material information and documents which must be provided by the creditor in the letter of claim or the debtor in the response to a letter of claim.

If either the creditor or debtor requests a document or information, the other party must within 14 days of receiving the request provide the document or information sought, or explain why the document or information sought is unavailable.

If you wish to engage me to assist with preparing a letter of demand for your business debt claim, please complete this Google form. (Google account log-in required for file upload.)

Alternatively, if you wish to engage a Singapore lawyer to assist with preparing a response to a letter of claim for business debt, including a counterclaim, you may contact me here.

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Article: How to Sue Someone in the Singapore Court? 

Singapore Law; Legal; Lawyer

People often ask, how do you sue someone? That’s a challenging question for a litigation lawyer. It’s like asking a chef, how do you cook food?

Litigation means suing or being sued in a court of law. It may be commercial litigation, meaning it involves a commercial dispute. Or it may be corporate litigation, which usually means it involves corporate shareholder fights.

Generally, if it is not a criminal case, then it is a civil case. It is therefore a civil lawsuit or dispute, as opposed to criminal proceedings.

In this article, I give an overview and explanation on how to sue someone in the Singapore court. I explain the process, procedures, considerations, timelines, and requirements, involved in court litigation. I’ve included visual flowcharts and diagrams to explain these.

Supreme Court of Singapore
Supreme Court of Singapore

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Case Update: SCT Technologies Pte Ltd v Western Copper Co Ltd [2015] SGCA 71 – Court of Appeal allows appeal on burden of proof

Singapore Law; Legal; Lawyer

Significance: Court of Appeal allowed appeal on the basis that the respondent failed to discharge its burden of proof by running its ‘minimal case’ and adducing insufficient evidence to prove that it had paid its debts.

Comment: It’s important for litigants to be clear about who bears the legal burden of proving which material facts. This would be based on the pleadings, which are therefore important legal documents that must be properly drafted. Evident from this case, even Supreme Court judges can differ in their construction of pleadings to determine such fundamental concepts as burden of proof. Such analyses must be done early in the litigation so that the appropriate and effective litigation strategy can be adopted. Running risky strategies like no case to answer or a “minimal case” approach must be well supported by robust legal analysis and research.

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