Drew & Napier clinches two Impact Cases of the Year awards at the Benchmark Litigation Awards 2024 28 May 2024 Drew & Napier clinched two Impact Cases of the Year awards for acting in the QBE Insurance and another v Relax Beach and Yap Sze Kam v Yang Kee Logistics matters at the Benchmark Litigation Awards 2024. In QBE Insurance and another v Relax Beach, Directors Siraj Omar SC and Allister Tan and team, comprising Associate Director Charmaine Chan and Senior Associate Fitzgerald Hendroff, acted for Relax Beach Co Ltd, the owner of a luxury hotel in Phuket, in a coverage dispute with its insurers QBE Singapore and MS First Capital. The dispute relates to a claim for business interruption losses suffered as a result of the mandated closure of the hotel following closure orders issued by the authorities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is an important and significant case because it is (to the best of our knowledge) the first case in Singapore where the courts have had the opportunity to consider insurance coverage issues for COVID-19 related business interruption claims (including the extent to which the UK Supreme Court’s decision in The Financial Conduct Authority v Arch and Others would apply in Singapore). The Court of Appeal had recognised the novelty and significance of this case by agreeing that it should hear the insurers’ appeal instead of the Appellate Division of High Court. In the matter Yap Sze Kam v Yang Kee Logistics Pte Ltd [2023] SGHC 43, Director Mohan Gopalan represented United Overseas Bank Limited in relation to a legal tussle between two other groups of creditors of the Yang Kee group. The court had to decide whether to appoint judicial managers on the application of one group of creditors, in a situation where receivers had already been appointed by another group of creditors. The court ultimately decided not to appoint judicial managers, thereby leaving the receivers in place. This case arose in the context of the restructuring of the Yang Kee group, involving creditor claims of some $375 million. The Impact Cases of the Year awards is exclusively presented to interesting and complex legal matters based on objective client feedback and survey data collected by the Benchmark Litigation team.