Leave to appeal allowed in Highland Towers case

23/06/2004The Star

PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Court granted the 73 residents and owners of Blocks Two and Three of Highland Towers leave to appeal against the Court of Appeal's decision on the Ampang Jaya Municipal Council's (MPAJ) post-collapse liability.

The three-men bench comprising Chief Judge of Malaya Justice Haidar Mohd Noor, Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Justice Steve Shim and Court of Appeal judge Justice Arifin Zakaria unanimously allowed the application yesterday.

Justice Haidar ordered that the notice of appeal be filed within two weeks.

He said the question of law that would be referred to was whether the Court of Appeal had erred in providing a distinction between private law and public law when it found that MPAJ was not responsible to the 73 residents for its act and omission, as determined by the High Court, following the collapse of Block One.

On Dec 3, 2002, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeals of four of the seven parties found liable for the collapse of Block One.

They were engineer Wong Yuen Kean, Arab-Malaysian Finance Berhad, Metrolux Sdn Bhd and MBf Property Services Sdn Bhd.

The court also found MPAJ liable for the pre-collapse events.

About two years earlier, High Court judge Justice James Foong ruled for the 73, who had filed a suit against 10 defendants.