Violet Oon’s business partner ordered to pay S$299,000 in legal costs to restaurateur and her family
Manoj Murjani and Group MMM are also ordered to pay disbursements of S$63,889.95
LUXURY and lifestyle company Group MMM and its director Manoj Murjani have been ordered by the High Court to pay S$299,000 to restaurateur Violet Oon and her two children.
In the judgment documents issued on Wednesday (Jul 3), Murjani and Group MMM were also ordered to pay disbursements of S$63,889.95 to the Oon family.
The judgment addresses the remaining points of contention between the parties, including the factors taken into account when assessing the fair value of the company’s shares and the legal costs involved.
Its delivery comes after the Oon family won the civil suit against Murjani in January, in which Singapore’s High Court ordered that the family buy out Murjani’s 50 per cent stake in the company at fair value. Murjani currently holds a 50 per cent stake in Violet Oon Inc through his sole shareholding of Group MMM.
Violet Oon Inc runs three Singapore restaurants serving local and Peranakan-inspired cuisine. Oon holds 20 per cent of the company and her children, 15 per cent each.
In the High Court’s view, Murjani and Group MMM’s conduct in the case made it “intolerable” for the Oon family to work with them. It also maintained that Murjani and Group MMM “should not profit from their own wrong in having acted unfairly” to Oon and her children.
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Oon and her children, Tay Yiming and Tay Su-Lyn, had brought a shareholder oppression suit against Murjani and Group MMM, with an eight-day trial in July and closing submissions in August last year. They were seeking either a court order to be able to acquire Murjani’s 50 per cent stake in Violet Oon Inc, or for the company to be wound up. They also asked for a shareholders’ agreement, signed in February 2019, to be invalidated as it was said to be signed under “duress and undue influence” from Murjani.
The High Court has deemed that it would “not be unfair” for the Oon family to pay for the advantage of gaining sole control of Violet Oon Inc – in place of shared control, to which they originally agreed – in an amount to be determined by an independent valuer.
In an e-mail to The Business Times on Wednesday, the Oon family said that they believe that the valuation and cost judgment represent “a fair outcome”.
“With this, the family is hopeful that they have come one step closer to the resolution of this matter. The Violet Oon family wish to reiterate that, from their perspective, the company is priceless to them, representing their family legacy and livelihood.”
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