Edric Chia

• Acted for a Chinese-owned entity to defend against a claim in respect of a guarantee provided as part of a series of complex transactions involving the sale of the largest irrigation property in Australia which engaged issues of contractual interpretation and misrepresentation in the High Court of Singapore.

• Acted for a law practice in a claim relating to payments made by the law practice out of amounts held under various escrow accounts in the High Court of Singapore, for a claim value of over SGD 2 million. The payments were held in respect of certain housing developments in a foreign country in a high-profile land-banking scam scheme.

• Acting for a Singapore entity linked to an established American jewellery retailer against one of India’s largest manufacturer and supplier of diamonds and jewellery in a multi-million cross claim amounting to over USD 67 million involving breach of a joint venture agreement, fraudulent misuse, conspiracy, inducement of breaches and quantum meruit in the High Court of Singapore.
• Acting for a group of companies in a shareholder dispute regarding a business venture in the production of an agriculture product in a frontier market, involving claims in conspiracy, contractual breaches and misrepresentation. The matter was initially commenced in the High Court of Singapore where we successfully obtained a stay of proceedings in favour of arbitration.
• Acting for a former director and chairman of an Australian based multi-million-dollar conglomerate to defend against a claim in respect of breach of fiduciary and statutory duty of confidentiality.

International Commercial Arbitration

• Acted for a prominent Chinese multinational company in a complex international arbitration in SIAC, involving the fabrication and assembly of commercial automobiles in a large-scale infrastructure project in Thailand with around SGD 9 million in dispute. The matter spanned 3 concurrent arbitration proceedings at the SIAC with issues of interpretation of contractual provision, tax exemption issues arising from the operation of industrial free trade zones, and potential criminal proceedings arising from the disputes.
• Acted for a Thai company in relation to a dispute against a prominent Chinese multinational company over a large-scale energy project involving the manufacture, production and processing of solar components.
• Assisted a Chinese-owned entity in a complex international arbitration in an action concerning a shareholder dispute regarding a joint venture company in Singapore, which involved alleged beaches of a Shareholders’ Agreement, issue of minority oppression fees and complex financial expert opinions in determining the value of the company’s shares.
• Acted for United States-based purchasers of a private aircraft, valued in excess of USD 6 million, in an international arbitration commenced under the SIAC rules. We successfully obtained an order for interim relief against the China-based sellers who had failed to deliver the aircraft as required by an international aircraft purchase agreement to which they were party, and eventually succeeded in having the aircraft delivered to the purchasers. The dispute involved a claim for specific performance of an international aircraft purchase agreement and complex cross-border issues such as whether certain technical conditions precedents were fulfilled, as well as what steps our clients had to take to fulfil the requirements for aircraft re-registration. Parties also raised novel arguments on the Emergency Arbitrator’s jurisdiction to modify the Emergency Award.
• Acting for a South Asian-based company, who own the land-use rights for one of the largest REDD+ peat swamp forest projects in the world, in an arbitration involving claims for over USD 310 million under the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre against its Hong Kong-based partner, who develops the project and sells carbon credits generated from the project. The matter spans over multiple concurrent arbitration proceedings under the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre and involves complex issues such as the compatibility of arbitration agreements, the effect of local laws and regulations on the legality of the project, the interpretation of numerous complex agreements, force majeure and frustration, and the ever-changing nature and recent developments in the carbon trading industry.

Private Wealth and Trust Disputes

• Assisted in a matter concerning the validity of a deed of family arrangement, which pertained to a draft will prepared for the patriarch of the family but which was never signed. The matter eventually proceeded to be considered before the Court of Appeal.
• Acted in a matter concerning the validity of a will contested on the basis that the testator lacked the requisite testamentary capacity to execute the will in question, specifically that the testator was burdened by the existence of prior overvalued ideas/delusions at the material time (UWF and another v UWH and another [2021] 4 SLR 314).
• Acted in a matter concerning the dispute over the interpretation of a clause in a will pursuant to the Wills Act.

Risk Management and Advisory

• Advised a listed company in Japan in relation to a potential fictitious transaction entered into with a Singapore company, on the possible causes of actions which the company may pursue in Singapore to unwind the transaction or claim against the relevant third parties personally (such as conspiracy, misrepresentation, breach of fiduciary duties, dishonest assistance and knowing receipt).
• Acted for mortgagors in a matter seeking an inquiry on the reasonableness of costs, charges and expenses charged by a regional financial institution as the mortgagor and a refund of excess monies paid under protest by the mortgagors.
• Advised a client in relation to their potential criminal exposure under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act 1992 regarding their role in the company behind one of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency collapses. Worked closely with US counsel to minimise our shared client’s criminal exposure and to ensure a consistent stand across jurisdictions.
• Advised one of the largest local universities on a cross-border copyright infringement claim arising from the University’s use of allegedly infringing material in an online publication. Advised the University on any potential exposure and managed its negotiations with counterparties, eventually reaching successful resolution of the matter.