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'House owners must establish
cause of action'
06/06/2006 The Sun
PETALING JAYA: Owners of houses which are damaged or destroyed in landslides
must establish a cause of action in order to file a suit against the parties
allegedly responsible for their losses.
Bar Council president Yeo Yang Poh said the onus is on the owners to first
establish the cause or causes of the landslide. "Only after this can they
determine who is responsible," he told theSun yesterday.
Yeo said there may be one or more causes.
Asked what would be the case if the Ampang Jaya Municipal Council was
involved, he said . "If it involves the local authority, then you have to
distinguish the Federal Court rulling in the Highland Towers case, which
gives immunity to the local authorities."
"You have to study whether there is any distinguishing factor between that
case and this."
He said it must be determined whether the local authority was a negligent
party. The owners should employ experts to determine the causes of the
landslide.
Lawyer Amer Hamzah Arshad said: "Basically, any one whose act and/or omision
had contributed to and had been a proximate cause of the injury suffered by
the plaintiff (any person injured or the family of the deceased) can be
sued.
"There can be multiple defendants as there could be liable, such as
planning, construction, ect.
"In the case of the recent landslide in Kg Pasir Tambahan, Hulu Klang, Which
claimed four lives, the consultants and developers are among who can be sued
for negligence and nuisance.
"The focus should be on whether there was non-compliance with any law,
regulation or guideline at the time when the area was approved for
development and during development.
"Anyone who has flouted the law must be investigated and taken to task. The
investigation must be transparent and those responsible directly or
indirectly must be held accountable."
Another lawyer, Derek J. Fernandez, said the owners can sue the developer or
the local authority, depending on the evidence.
"There should proceed to a fact-finding mission and request the local
authority to furnish them with the permission and a copy for planning ment
order submitted by the developer to the authority," he said |
