Rozzana Chung Binti Abdullah & Ors v United Highlands Sdn Bhd

Appellant(s):

• Rozzana Chung Binti Abdullah
• Gan Sian Soon
• Chung Nyat Dau
• Charles Philomen A/L V. David
• Chong Mun Cheng
• Lee Ek Wee
• Ng Pik Yen

Respondent(s): United Highlands Sdn Bhd

• YA Dato' Azizul Azmi Bin Adnan
• YA Dato Alwi Bin Abdul Wahab
• YA Datuk Dr Lim Hock Leng

• The plaintiff, a developer and unit owner, challenged the legality of the Joint Management Committee (JMC) of a strata development, alleging that the committee members continued to hold office unlawfully after their statutory term limits expired.
• Following various directives from the Commissioner of Building (COB) and conflicting awards from the Strata Management Tribunal, the plaintiff commenced a High Court action seeking injunctions and declarations that the defendants were illegally constituted and had committed the tort of deceit.
• The High Court ruled in favor of the plaintiff, declaring the JMC meetings invalid, finding the defendants liable for the tort of deceit, and granting various consequential orders and damages.

• Whether the plaintiff had the *locus standi* to initiate the action in its own name against the defendants, given that the JMC owes duties to the body of proprietors as a whole.
• Whether the High Court had jurisdiction to hear the matter under section 106 of the Strata Management Act 2013, considering prior proceedings before the Strata Management Tribunal.
• Whether the expiry of the two-year term limit for specific office bearers (Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer) under the Second Schedule of the Act results in the automatic vacation of office for all other committee members, and whether the defendants' conduct constituted the tort of deceit.

• The Court of Appeal held that while the JMC owes duties to the body of proprietors, individual proprietors retain *locus standi* to sue for breaches of statutory duty; however, the Court found that the High Court’s findings of liability were unsustainable.
• The Court ruled that the expiry of the term for specific office bearers does not automatically render the entire JMC illegal or void, as the legislation contains no provision for the automatic retirement of other committee members.
• The Court set aside the High Court’s decision, holding that the allegation of the tort of deceit was not made out, as there was no evidence of dishonest conduct or misrepresentation, and the defendants were not bound by prior Tribunal awards to which they were not parties.