According to propertyguru.com, if a building collapsed the owners who lost their homes have the right to bring a civil action against the following defendants, namely:
- The developer
- Architect
- Engineer
- Local authority
- Owners of the adjacent lands
- Contractors
The case may start from the High Court, and go all the way to the Federal Court (which is the highest court in Malaysia).
The judges would examine the cause of the collapse under the laws of negligence and nuisance, and eventually, most of the defendants may be found responsible for the damage.
The above is merely a case example where residents of destroyed homes decided to bring civil action to recover their losses.
But, what about if you lost a multi-million business project? Can you sue the authority, the bank, the liquidators, the clients, and those who you think is the cause?
Can the authority involved be sued though it might be protected with immunity and escape liability?
So, what are the legal steps or actions business people can take if their business or projects were destroyed and they eventually lost their money, assets, factories and even homes?
For example, Mr. X and his family were running a business. They were granted a contract with the government to build a bridge. The contract worthed millions of dollars but the government promised the full payment could be made only months after the project completed. Mr. X took loans and borrowed money from some partners to complete the project. The ministry involved was careless and ignored his calls and demands, and some officers even took bribes from him. Mr. X and his family ended up in bankruptcy when the ministry did not want to pay the outstanding nor continue the project which was almost completed. M X factory was winded up. A private liquidator took over the company to revive it, but instead, he destroyed it and its owners completely. Mr. X and his family did not only lose their factory and project and millions of dollars, indeed, but they also lost their family house.
Can Mr. X and his family bring civil action to recover their losses?
