PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal has allowed a developer’s appeal to revive its counterclaim against 40 house purchasers which the High Court struck out over an inadvertent RM400 shortfall in filing fees.
A three-member bench chaired by Justice Alwi Abdul Wahab recorded a consent order allowing Platinum Eminent Sdn Bhd’s appeal without contest after the purchasers agreed to the appeal being allowed.
Justices Ahmad Kamal Shahid and Amarjeet Singh were also on the bench.
The purchasers sued the developer for purported liquidated ascertained damages, prompting the developer to file its defence and counterclaim.
However, the developer inadvertently paid only RM16 instead of the required RM416 filing fee for the counterclaim.
Neither side noticed the shortfall, and the issue was not raised during the Nov 14, 2024 hearing before a judicial commissioner.
On Jan 10, 2025, the judge dismissed the parties’ applications but, on her own accord, struck out the counterclaim due to the RM400 shortfall in filing fees.
The developer appealed, arguing that the parties should have been allowed to top up the shortfall and regularise the counterclaim.
The Shah Alam High Court has fixed Sept 2 for case management.
K F Ee and Emily Hiew appeared for the developer, while Wong Renn Xin represented the purchasers.
