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Coffeeshop Chit Chat - Appeal Court deposit will double to $20K</TD><TD id=msgunetc noWrap align=right>
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</NOBR> </TD><TD class=msgDate width="30%" noWrap align=right>Jul-30 10:26 pm </TD></TR><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgT height=20 width="1%" noWrap align=right>To: </TD><TD class=msgTname width="68%" noWrap>ALL <NOBR></NOBR></TD><TD class=msgNum noWrap align=right> (1 of 5) </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgleft rowSpan=4 width="1%"> </TD><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>17988.1 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD>Appeal Court deposit will double to $20,000
</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- headline one : end --></TD></TR><TR><TD>Bigger sum to keep pace with costs likely to be awarded </TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- Author --></TD></TR><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By K.C. Vijayan, Law Correspondent
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->LITIGANTS thinking of taking their civil suits all the way to the Court of Appeal will now have to stump up a bigger sum of money before they can do so.
The Supreme Court said in a circular to lawyers and legal practitioners that the fee, known as security for costs, will be doubled to $20,000 from Aug 31, in a move meant to protect the respondents in an appeal case.
It would ensure that they would not have to bear more legal costs than are necessary as a result of the appeal, as they had already obtained a judgment in their favour.
If the costs awarded are more than the security deposit, the respondent would still have to recover the difference from an unsuccessful appellant.
This is the first time in 11 years that this sum has been raised for appeals to Singapore's highest court.
According to the notice issued by Supreme Court Registrar Foo Chee Hock, the hike is meant to ensure that such deposits keep pace with the current costs likely to be awarded to the winning party.
In a lawsuit, the winner's legal costs are usually ordered to be borne by the losing side. If the loser cannot pay, the deposit will be forfeited and given to the winning party.
Security deposits are either paid into court or can be in the form of a guarantee by the appealing party's lawyer.
The Supreme Court circular also set $15,000 as the security deposit for appeals on interim matters such as the discovery of relevant documents.
The security deposit for an appeal to the High Court still stands at $3,000.
There are no security deposits for civil suits in the High Court or District Court unless the plaintiff is a foreigner.
Lawyers contacted said the hike for Court of Appeal cases was to be expected, given that legal costs now were much higher than 10 years ago.
For example, legal costs awarded in the Court of Appeal 10 years ago were around $15,000, whereas a similar case now would incur legal costs of about $30,000.
'It should be seen in the context of fee changes over time and would still fall short of the depth, scope and quality of efforts put in by the parties and the Bench,' said senior lawyer Niru Pillai.
Lawyers said the increase in security deposits would help weed out frivolous appeals.
However, they also said it would not deter those who do not have the money, but have real merits to their case, from lodging an appeal.
Lawyer Mark Goh said cases in the Supreme Court usually involve litigants of 'high net worth' or those who have the means to lodge an appeal.
[email protected]
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</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- headline one : end --></TD></TR><TR><TD>Bigger sum to keep pace with costs likely to be awarded </TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- Author --></TD></TR><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By K.C. Vijayan, Law Correspondent
</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- show image if available --></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->LITIGANTS thinking of taking their civil suits all the way to the Court of Appeal will now have to stump up a bigger sum of money before they can do so.
The Supreme Court said in a circular to lawyers and legal practitioners that the fee, known as security for costs, will be doubled to $20,000 from Aug 31, in a move meant to protect the respondents in an appeal case.
It would ensure that they would not have to bear more legal costs than are necessary as a result of the appeal, as they had already obtained a judgment in their favour.
If the costs awarded are more than the security deposit, the respondent would still have to recover the difference from an unsuccessful appellant.
This is the first time in 11 years that this sum has been raised for appeals to Singapore's highest court.
According to the notice issued by Supreme Court Registrar Foo Chee Hock, the hike is meant to ensure that such deposits keep pace with the current costs likely to be awarded to the winning party.
In a lawsuit, the winner's legal costs are usually ordered to be borne by the losing side. If the loser cannot pay, the deposit will be forfeited and given to the winning party.
Security deposits are either paid into court or can be in the form of a guarantee by the appealing party's lawyer.
The Supreme Court circular also set $15,000 as the security deposit for appeals on interim matters such as the discovery of relevant documents.
The security deposit for an appeal to the High Court still stands at $3,000.
There are no security deposits for civil suits in the High Court or District Court unless the plaintiff is a foreigner.
Lawyers contacted said the hike for Court of Appeal cases was to be expected, given that legal costs now were much higher than 10 years ago.
For example, legal costs awarded in the Court of Appeal 10 years ago were around $15,000, whereas a similar case now would incur legal costs of about $30,000.
'It should be seen in the context of fee changes over time and would still fall short of the depth, scope and quality of efforts put in by the parties and the Bench,' said senior lawyer Niru Pillai.
Lawyers said the increase in security deposits would help weed out frivolous appeals.
However, they also said it would not deter those who do not have the money, but have real merits to their case, from lodging an appeal.
Lawyer Mark Goh said cases in the Supreme Court usually involve litigants of 'high net worth' or those who have the means to lodge an appeal.
[email protected]
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