Jack-In Pile v Bauer

Jack-In Pile (M) Sdn Bhd v Bauer (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd is the leading Malaysian Federal Court decision on CIPAA 2012, handed down on 16 October 2019 (together with Ireka Engineering & Construction Sdn Bhd v PWC Corporation). Bauer relied on a pay-when-paid clause to resist paying subcontractor Jack-In Pile; Jack-In Pile invoked CIPAA Section 35, which voids such clauses, and won an adjudication award of RM906,034. The Federal Court held that because CIPAA affects substantive rights — not merely the dispute forum — it applies only prospectively, so Section 35 does not retrospectively void pay-when-paid clauses for disputes predating the Act.

Connections

• CIPAA 2012 — case interprets the Act’s scope, source: 2019
• Pay-When-Paid Clauses — case concerns the s.35 voiding provision, source: 2019
• Malaysia — jurisdiction of the case, source: 2019