ACRES v Tan Boon Kwee
Leading Singapore court case on negligence / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Animal Concerns Research & Education Society v Tan Boon Kwee [2011] SGCA 2 is a leading case in the law of negligence in Singapore. It was an appeal to the Singapore Court of Appeal by Animal Concerns Research & Education Society (ACRES) on a lawsuit alleging that a contractor had polluted land. The court found in favour of ACRES, awarding over $25 million in damages, but ACRES was unable to recover much of it as Tan was unable to pay.[1][2][3]
ACRES v Tan Boon Kwee | |
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Court | Court of Appeal of Singapore |
Full case name | Animal Concerns Research & Education Society v Tan Boon Kwee |
Decided | 20 January 2011 |
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ACRES established a number of key principles in the application of the Spandeck test in negligence. In it, Justice Andrew Phang found that the existence of the arbitration clause in Spandeck was what negated the imposition of a duty of care, and that contracts in themselves do not preclude a tortious relationship from arising.[4] He also noted that the test of "legal proximity" need sometimes be considered beyond mere physical proximity.[5] At the policy stage, Phang ruled that positive policy considerations should be weighed in tandem with negative ones.[6]