In a recent decision by Dedar Singh Gill J, the Judge gave a caution to litigants and their lawyers against pleading causes of action (COA) or claims which are superfluous.
Continue reading “Case: Singapore High Court cautions against pleading superfluous causes of action or claims”
Case: Singapore High Court lays down framework for determining whether to not enforce a trust for illegality
Significance: The General Division of the High Court of Singapore (per Goh Yihan JC as he then was) laid down a legal framework adapted from that in Ochroid Trading* (in which the Singapore Court of Appeal established the framework for illegality in claims in contract and recovery in restitution) for determining whether to not enforce a trust for illegality (see [80]).
Lau Sheng Jan Alistair v Lau Cheok Joo Richard [2023] SGHC 196
* Ochroid Trading Ltd and another v Chua Siok Lui (trading as VIE Import & Export) and another [2018] 1 SLR 363
Case: Singapore High Court holds that crypto assets are things in action which can be subject to a trust; orders constructive trust over stolen digital assets USDT
ByBit Fintech Ltd v Ho Kai Xin and others [2023] SGHC 199
Significant decision: The General Division of the High Court of Singapore (per curiam Philip Jeyaretnam J) has held that crypto assets are things or choses in action, and thus capable of being subject to a trust.
Case: Singapore High Court holds that 2021 ROC allows court to order disclosure under Notice to Produce procedure equivalent in 2014 ROC
Interactive Digital Finance Ltd v Credit Suisse AG [2023] SGHC 198
Significance: Chua Lee Ming J held that under the 2021 Rules of Court (“ROC”), the court has the power to direct at a Case Conference, disclosure under the equivalent of a Notice to Produce procedure under the 2014 ROC.
Case: SHC holds employer liable for copyright infringement by unauthorised software use
Siemens Industry Software Inc. (formerly known as Siemens Product Lifecycle Management Software Inc) v Inzign Pte Ltd [2023] SGHC 50
Employee installed unauthorised version of Siemens’ commercial software on a company laptop for his work without permission. Siemens sued the company for copyright infringement. Court held the company vicariously liable for the employee’s infringement but not directly or primarily liable.
Facilitation Techniques & Behaviours
Have you ever had to facilitate a group discussion? It could be a work brainstorming meeting, focus group or accountability small group.
Every so often, we may find that the discussion is veering off course or losing steam, some voices drown others out, ideas or content get stale, or things get heated.
Here are some tools and techniques to help facilitate group discussions.
Poem: The Final Evening
29 December 2014
Bodies somersault in silent currents;
dancers and stumblers separate in rhythm.
And there was evening and there was morning.
Nimble winds weave around falling metal,
separating head from tail, wings from body.
And there was evening and there was morning.
Heads drop like fresh fruit fallen on damp fields;
knives, like seasons, separate ripe from unripe.
And there was evening and there was morning.
Stray cells burst out all around like spring bloom,
separating the faint hearts of lovers.
And there was evening and there was morning.
The conquered echo hymns of foreign gods;
words separate the trembling from the inert.
And there was evening and there was morning.
Crusts of earth unclasp their quiescent hands,
separating flesh from dust and dry bones.
And there was evening and there was morning.
Pure light gilds new trees by ancient rivers,
separating never from forever.
And there was evening, the final evening.
And there is morning.
Poem: Burning Time
What words burn the tip of time’s arrow
shot from the height of the last morrow?
When did you stop watering the bonsai?
Was it after her leaves had turned brown?
When heat brings chaos, time must follow;
where would the final fire make you go?
When all of you have been swallowed up,
where and how should I store your ashes?
Where would time for two be true as one
despite distance, detours and demands?
Where did you take me when I was three?
Was it you, or me, or us who were free?
—
Inspired by The Order of Time by Carlo Rovelli
Poem: Transit
1 December 2019
How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
Psalm 13:1-2
I’m the traveller waiting in transit,
whose flight is not yet fixed or known to him,
in a foreign land whose food he now eats,
whose language he now speaks fluently in.
The boarding time—that’s still a mystery,
but the retail offers make up for it,
and the cheap spa’s soothing soul therapy,
one would give up checking every minute.
Crowds or jostling bother not much longer
than the dated movies showing on screen,
so other travellers ‘round drinks gather,
forget the land they were meant to be in:
the land of ancestors and native tongues,
of healing and soulful songs to be sung.
Poem: God in Geylang
“Hallelujah people lai liao!*”:
lanterns lit our path into a house of—God
have mercy—sex, flesh hiding beneath
frail smiles, our offers of cookies and prayer.
.
A dark-skinned girl wearing
a cross, which I could not bear
to look, reached for us; we embraced
her in a cocoon of indistinguishable bodies.
.
Clasped hands catching crumbs
of lost words and bowed heads
sculpted petitions to our Father. Amen,
we said, a thousand questions
.
unspoken among us,
each struggling to soar, to find a home
where every answer burns
a gentle fire to light up a long, long night.
.
* “lai liao”: literally come already in Chinese