Kelvin Tan
Kelvin obtained his LLB (Hons) 2nd Upper Division from the University of Hull, England in 1995. Thereafter, he was called to the Bar of England and Wales in 1996. In 1998 he was admitted as an Advocate and Solicitor of Singapore and in 2001, he was also admitted to the Law Society of England and Wales as a Solicitor.
Kelvin began his career at Lee Bong Leong & Co practising general civil and criminal litigation. He has since worked with Wong Partnership and Harry Elias Partnership in Singapore as well as a two year stint at Berrymans Lace Mawer in London.
Kelvin's main experience is in general commercial litigation, with a sub-specialty in construction and insurance related matters. He also done a substantial amount of advisory work in relation to project and construction matters, including the drafting of contract documentation. Kelvin has also spent 3 months on attachment with Singapore Airlines as a legal counsel, where he handled a number of IT projects and contracts, including the review and negotiation of contracts and IT related contracts.
His experience includes the following:-
1. Acted for the project Insurers in the Nicoll Highway Inquiry that arose out of the collapse of part of the Circle Line works at Nicoll Highway. The inquiry spanned for 6 months and dealt with a number of highly technical geotechnical issues.
2. Advised a contractor in its negotiations with a consortium in relation to the tender for the Singapore Sports hub.
3. Advised a hotel developer in relation to the project documentation for the construction of a new hotel at Tiong Bahru.
4. Acted for a LTA Contractor in relation to claims arising out of construction of the KPE project at Kallang.
5. Acted for a company in relation to a $15 million dollar claim arising out of the construction of a columbarium.
6. Acted for the shareholders of a company in relation to a suit under the Companies Act for Minority oppression. The suit is ongoing.
7. Acted for an engineering consultant in a negligence suit in relation to the collapse of a basement car park system that was under construction at the time.
8. Acted for a major construction company in relation to claims arising out of foundation problems in commercial development which led to the building to tilt.
9. Acted for several developers in relation to suits concerning defects in several private condominiums.
10. Acted for a major construction company in relation to claims by the developer in connection with the development of a Research and Development project.
11. Assisted in the drafting of various agreements and contracts for the Building and Construction Authority, the Singapore Contractors’ Association and other private clients.
12. Acted for the Building and Construction Authority in relation to a claim by the BCA on a performance bond and for which an injunction was obtained against them. The injunction was subsequently dismissed.
13. Acted for a local hospital in a claim against a Japanese company over the installation of an automated car park system.
14. Advised a local listed company and its subsidiaries in relation to claims involving oil and gas projects in Iran and China.
15. Acted for insurers and their insured, a leading structural engineering company in a case involving a road viaduct which involved for the first time in UK a new form of pre-stressed segmented construction. The contractor lodged two separate claims, one for damages arising out of negligence for poor design of the bridge and the other for damages as a result of a failure of one of the bridge components during construction. In both claims there were a number of issues that required expert evidence and these related to the assessment of the damages claimed by the contractor, the entitlement to additional fees, the cause of delay and the cause of the failure of the components.
16. Acted for an engineering and power company in a case involving damage to a gas turbine supplied for use in a nuclear reprocessing power plant.
17. Acted for the management company of an office block in Canary Wharf in relation to a £1 million pound claim for damage caused by the activation of the fire sprinkler system. Proceedings were commenced in the Technology and Construction Court and the matter was scheduled for hearing in June 2003.
18. Acted for a developer in a claim against the structural engineers and piling contractor for damage to an adjacent building as a result of poorly supervised CFA piling.
19. Acted for insurers and their insured, a global structural engineering firm in a US$40 million claim by the main contractor in a project involving an overseas public infrastructure project. The main areas of dispute concentrated on the inadequate reinforcement in the design of a railway depot and other buildings.
20. Acted for insurers and their insured, an engineering firm in a case involving a ground failure into a canal as a result of excess spoil placed on the land. The developer sued the engineer for negligence alleging that they had failed to obtain proper soil surveys.
21. Acted for insurers and their insured, an engineering firm in claim by the contractor involving a £500 million road extension to the M6 highway.
22. Acted for a local structural engineering firm in a FIDIC arbitration involving a hotel project in Portugal. Arbitration proceedings were commenced by the Quantity Surveyors appointed to the project, for losses that they claim they suffered as a result of our clients.
23. Acted for a major Australian Construction Company in a dispute over the development of a US$60 million hotel in Ho Chi Min City, Vietnam. The contract was based on JCT 1963 and the issues involved included time at large, liquidated damages, variation claims, loss and expense and the abatement of defective works. The arbitration was conducted in Singapore under SIAC rules and the Arbitration Act. There were also a number of issues which required expert evidence and these related to the assessment of delay, fluorocarbon coating thickness, timber shrinkage, basement waterproofing, the integrity of fire-rated doors, the properties of laminated glass amongst others.
24. Acted for a local development company in a dispute over the development of an S$50 million hotel in Singapore. The issued involved relate to defective works by the Main Contractor and direct contractors. There were also issues of professional negligence against the Architect and Engineers over structural inadequacies in the project.
25. Acted for an UK Construction company in a dispute over the development of a power plant in Singapore. Issues involved claims arising out of delays to the works, accelerated works and variation works.
26. Acted for a local telecommunications provider in a case involving breach of contract, breach of confidence and unlawful interference with contract against former employees. After a trial in High Court, the Defendants consented to judgment being entered against them.
27. Acted for a local town club in a dispute with the Director and Shareholders involving loans to the Directors and Shareholders of $50 million. The matter was resolved after 8 weeks of trail.
28. Acted for a local listed company in a $40 million dollar capital reduction exercise.
29. Advised a local listed company on contentious aspect in their S$230 million debt restructuring exercise.
30. Acted for a local Bank in a Criminal Affairs Department investigation into breaches of Securities Industries Act over an Initial Public Offering. The announcement of the IPO caused a public furore as it had certain misleading elements relating to the subscription rates. The firm was involved in taking numerous statement from the employees to reconstruct the event for the purposes of reporting to the owners of the bank and negotiating with the Criminal Affairs Department.
31. Acted for developer in a High Court Suit involving dispute over construction of a condominium and shophouses. The matter was resolved during the trial in the High Court.
32. Acted for a local town council in an arbitration involving a landfill dispute. The matter original proceeded by the way of arbitration but was then transferred with consent of the parties to the High Court. After trial, the High Court ruled in favour of clients.
33. Acted for an Indonesian Company in a High Court Suit for damages for breach of contract over the sale of heavy machinery. The matter eventually went up to the Court of Appeal who ruled in clients’ favour and this was reported in [2001] 1 SLR 540.
34. Acted for the subsidiary of a listed company in a High Court Suit against another company involving the rental of heavy cranes for a project in Indonesia.
Seminars/ Articles
Kelvin has published various legal articles and has also given and/or assisted in various seminars including the following:-
Article on Unforeseen Legal Conditions, Asia Legal Business, Issue 5.3 Seminar on Amendments to the Public Sector Standard Conditions of Contract 2004, Various insurance and legal related articles in the Post Magazine and RIBA Journal, UK. Seminar on the working of the Building Maintenance and Strata Management Act. Seminar on the Workplace Safety and Health Act.
Kelvin is currently the Legal Contributor to Q Magazine, a financial magazine in Singapore.