Court decides in favour of plaintiff in Utusan case

PETALING JAYA: In a writ of summons against Utusan Melayu (M) Bhd for the failure to refund deposits totalling RM8.5mil, the High Court decided in the plaintiff’s favour on Feb 11. The plaintiff is media company Redberry Sdn Bhd.

“The board of Utusan wishes to announce that it has instructed the company’s solicitors to appeal to the Court of Appeal against the High Court’s decision,” said Utusan in a filing with Bursa Malaysia.

It added that despite the High Court’s decision, the company’s counterclaim against the plaintiff for the sum totalling RM48.32mil, general damages and exemplary damages under the main suit still subsists, which the counterclaim will extinguish the summary judgment obtained by the plaintiff for the sum of RM8.5mil. Any further material development of the above matter will be announced accordingly.

Last September, industrial chemicals distributor Nylex (M) Bhd and Redberry – both subsidiaries of Ancom Bhd – sued Utusan Melayu for the failure to refund deposits totalling RM18.5mil.

Redberry’s claim stated that Utusan had failed to refund RM8.5mil in deposits paid for an “advertising, branding and communication exercise by the Redberry Media Group through Utusan Malaysia and Mingguan Malaysia” dated April 30.

Nylex, meanwhile, claimed that Utusan had failed to refund a RM10mil deposit which had been remitted pursuant to letters of an “advertising, branding and communication exercise by the Nylex Group of Companies through Utusan Malaysia and Mingguan Malaysia” dated Jan 29 and Feb 27.