Legal Recourse

We are keeping track of the lawyers who handle en bloc cases and of the bodies or persons you can contact in case a Stayer needs help in his or her situation.  All of these are not personal recommendation but rather gathered from news reports of the lawyers HIRED by minority owners:

• If you want to talk about the constitutionality of the enbloc law, or whether to include SDs into the CSA, or the agent/coordinator angle of the CSA, or legal contradictions in the LTSA, the person in the know is Senior Counsel Michael Hwang.
   
• Ong Ying Ping (Ong Tay & Partners) once gave a seminar on enblocs from a dissenter's perspective. He wrote about applying for a "declarative order" for out of control SCs or pro-sale groups as a proactive measure for dissenters.
  
  All of these are not personal recommendation but rather from news reports of which lawyers were HIRED by minority owners:
  
  Horizon Towers:
   

  -	1 group of 3 represented by Tan Kok Quan - Mr Ramesh Kannan.
  -	1 group of 4 represented by Harry Elias Partnership - Senior Counsel K.S. Rajah and Mr Philip Fong.
  -	1 owner represented by Phang & Co, with instructions given to Senior Counsel Michael Hwang.

  Phoenix Court:
  SC Michael Hwang again
  
  Gillman Heights:
  Minority Owners Lawyer : Eddee Ng of Tan Kok Quan Partnership
  
  Devonshire Lodge:
  Harry Elias - Mr Philip Fong
  
  Futura Condo:
  Party: 7 minority owners represented by Henry Heng Gwee Nam of Tan Peng Chin LLC
  
  Other possible contacts:
  
  Sandra Tan of Drew and Napier
  Denis Tan of Toh Tan & Partners
  Carolyn Tan of Tan and Au Partnership
   

• STB (Strata Title Board) handles disputes. If you experience 'irregular things' such as the lack of action on the part of the MC, for example, to perform their duties as stated in the BMSMA, then that is grounds for a complaint to the STB. You can find more information on the types of complaints that the STB can address: http://www.mnd.gov.sg/stb/cg1.html
   
• Write to someone much higher up in the Ministry of Law, bypassing the feedback unit. Preferably at Deputy Secretary or Director equivalent level at the minimum
   
• Target an MP or Minister who stays in a condo and be persistent. Be clear about your experiences and what the law is subjecting the rest of us to. Getting an MP or Minister on your side is extremely powerful. Hope he isn't a flipper or condo raider, though!

For instance for those in the east, try to attend the Meet the People Session

And remember - A letter from a lawyer representing a Stayer, pointing out some issues with EOGMs, is often enough to postpone the event (or subsequent events), especially if the issues are valid. Examples of issues raised - letter not received by Subsidiary Proprietor, voting was incorrectly performed, major errors in CSAs/presentations etc. A legal letter is far more effective than an anonymous or named flyer. In one case, the letter was pasted on every block's notice board, as well as sent to the MC. That immediately showed how serious the Stayer was in keeping the pro group in check. Indicating right from the outset your intent to fight all the way to Court of Appeals, and enlisting lawyers to represent you from the start may well be the best way to go.