Civil and Corporate Litigation

It is a formal letter setting out a claim and asking for payment or action by a deadline, warning that legal action will follow otherwise. If you receive one, don't ignore it: note the deadline, gather your documents, avoid admitting anything in an angry reply, and get legal advice on whether to pay, negotiate or dispute it.

Under the Limitation Act, most contract and tort claims must be brought within six years, and personal injury claims within three. Hidden damage in negligence has special rules with a 15-year long-stop, and a judgment can be enforced for 12 years. Some events can restart or delay the clock.

The Rules of Court 2021 require parties to consider resolving the dispute amicably before and during proceedings, and to make an offer of amicable resolution before suing unless there are good reasons not to. The court can order parties to try mediation, and refusing without good reason can affect the costs you recover or pay.

Under the Rules of Court 2021, you first try to settle and make an offer of amicable resolution. If that fails, the claim starts with an Originating Claim and a Statement of Claim. The defendant says whether it will contest, then files a Defence. The court manages the case through case conferences before trial and judgment.

It mostly depends on the amount. The Small Claims Tribunals hear claims up to S$20,000 (S$30,000 if both sides agree), the Magistrates' Court up to S$60,000, the District Court up to S$250,000, and the General Division of the High Court above that.

Usually the losing party is ordered to pay part of the winner's costs, but rarely all of them. The court has a broad discretion and looks at all the circumstances, including the parties' conduct and their efforts to settle.

You can apply to court for enforcement orders, such as seizing and selling the debtor's property or ordering a bank that holds the debtor's money to pay you directly. You can also have the debtor questioned on oath about their assets, and for larger unpaid debts, bankruptcy or winding-up proceedings may be possible.

Arbitration is private, lets the parties choose the arbitrator, and produces awards enforceable in most countries under the New York Convention, but there is no appeal on the merits and it is not automatically cheaper. Court is public, the judge is assigned, and appeals are possible. Often the contract decides which applies.