Vettath v Vettath

• Jurisdiction: Singapore
• Judgment Date: 14 October 1991
• Date: 14 October 1991
• Docket Number: Civil Application No 1 of 1991
• Court: Court of Appeal (Singapore)

Vettath

Plaintiff

and

Vettath

Defendant

[1991] SGCA 38

Yong Pung How CJ

,

Goh Joon Seng J

and

Rajendran J

Civil Application No 1 of 1991

Court of Appeal

Civil Procedure–Appeals–Notice–Extension of time to file notice of appeal–Whether application made on grounds sufficient to persuade court to show sympathy to applicant–Order 57 r 4 Rules of the Supreme Court 1970

This was an application to file a notice of appeal out of time in a divorce case. O 57 r 4 of the Rules of the Supreme Court 1970 required the notice to be filed within one month of the date of the orders made. The applicant instructed his solicitor to appeal against the orders. A few days later, upon his solicitor's suggestion, the applicant agreed to brief new counsel for the purpose of the appeal. Neither solicitor filed the notice of appeal during the transition period. The omission was discovered a week before the period under O 57 r 4 expired. A week later, the applicant's new solicitor asked the solicitor for the other party whether she would consent to the notice of appeal being filed out of time. The solicitor for the ex-wife informed him that her instructions were to object to the application.

Held, dismissing the application:

In this case, the applicant had three and a half weeks to file the notice of appeal. He could have filed the notice through either one of the solicitors acting for him within the time provided by the Rules, but did not do so. The applicant had not shown grounds sufficient to persuade the court to show sympathy to him: at [9].

Pearson Judith Rosemary v Chen Chien Wen Edwin [1991] 2 SLR (R) 260; [1991] SLR 212 (folld)

Rules of the Supreme Court1970, TheO 57r 4 (consd)

Sivananthan Selvadurai (S Selvadurai) for the applicant

Ann Tan (Ann Tan & Associates) for the respondent.

Judgment reserved.

Yong Pung How CJ

(delivering the oral judgment of the court):

1 This is an application to file the notice of appeal out of time in Divorce Petition No 1533 of 1987. It relates specifically to various orders made by a High Court judge on 2 May 1991 for custody of and access to the children, maintenance for the ex-wife and children, and the payment of $135,000 to the ex-wife being her share of the matrimonial assets (“the court orders”). Under O 57 r 4 of the Rules of the Supreme Court 1970, the notice of appeal would have had to be filed and served within one month from 2 May 1991.

2 The applicant's solicitors at that time...