Full trial ordered for Mudajaya’s 'properties as payment for construction work' case

KUALA LUMPUR (May 6): Mudajaya Group Bhd (KL:MUDAJYA) said a lawsuit it had initiated over properties it was promised as payments for construction work on a mixed-development project in Kuala Lumpur will go back to the High Court for a full trial.

Mudajaya had secured RM152.36 million in properties via a court order of specific performance in October last year. But the Court of Appeal has now ordered that the matter be remitted back to the High Court for a full trial, according to a bourse filing on Wednesday.

“The Court of Appeal decided on procedural technicality that the trial court judge has erred in exercising his discretion to direct a preliminary determination of the case under Order 33 of the Rules of the Court 2012, as the issues to be determined required the consideration of disputed facts in a full trial,” said Mudajaya.

The appellant, the mixed-development project’s developer Crest Worldwide Resources Sdn Bhd, has been awarded RM20,000 costs. Further, Crest Worldwide will be refunded the RM100,000 costs it was ordered to pay Mudajaya at the High Court.

“There are no further financial implications to this decision at present,” Mudajaya said in its filing.

The properties comprise 25 units of residential apartments, five units of commercial shops, 142 units of offices, 284 units of car parking bays and 99 units of motorcycle parking spaces. According to Mudajaya, the properties are valued at RM152.36 million as of end-2025.

In 2007, Crest Worldwide contracted Mudajaya to build the project, known as The Crest Towers, in Jalan Sultan Ismail, Kuala Lumpur.

Due to the developer’s inability to pay sums due for works, various agreements were inked for delivery of units in the project to Mudajaya as payment, including a compromise and settlement agreement in 2013.

A final settlement agreement was signed in April 2016, in which both parties agreed for Mudajaya to complete the balance of work in the project at its own cost. The project was completed in 2017, according to Mudajaya.

The group initiated the civil suit in 2019 after it did not obtain vacant possession of the properties.

Crest Worldwide is owned by SKN Land & Development Sdn Bhd (70%) and Ideal Towerwin Sdn Bhd (30%), which in turn are ultimately owned by Datuk Seri Shamir Kumar Nandy, according to Mudajaya.

Shares of Mudajaya ended half a sen or 1.35% lower at 36.5 sen, valuing the group at RM193.99 million.

..........

EdgeProp's monthly print edition is out! Free delivery is available for selected regions. Subscribe now.