PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal has, by a 2-1 majority, upheld two High Court judgments ordering Jovian Mandagie, the former son-in-law of ex-prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, to repay a total of RM10 million to two companies.
Justice Wong Kian Kheong, who chaired the three-member panel, delivered the majority decision with Justice Firuz Jaffril concurring. Justice Evrol Mariette Peters dissented.
The appeals concerned separate RM5 million claims brought by Bina Pragmatik Sdn Bhd and Cekap Air Sdn Bhd, which said the money each transferred to Jovian constituted a friendly loan repayable within 12 months.
Wong said there was no triable issue over whether the payments constituted oral friendly loans, adding that Jovian had failed to discharge his evidential burden of showing why the claims required a full trial.
The majority found insufficient evidence to support Jovian's contention that the payments were business investments rather than loans.
The Court of Appeal consequently dismissed both appeals and affirmed the summary judgments granted by the High Court. It also ordered Jovian, a fashion designer, to pay RM60,000 in costs.
In dissenting, Peters took the view that the appeals should have been allowed, arguing that the nature of the payments required further examination.
She noted that the companies had not produced contemporaneous documents establishing the alleged friendly-loan arrangements, including references to such arrangements in their letters of demand.
Peters also considered that proof of the money transfers alone was insufficient to establish that the payments were loans.
She further pointed out that Jovian had filed an affidavit setting out his defence, while the companies had not filed affidavits to rebut his assertions.
The disputes arose from Bina Pragmatik's transfer of RM5 million to the client account of Jovian's solicitors on March 25, 2022, and Cekap Air's transfer of an identical sum to another law firm's client account on Feb 25, 2022.
Both companies said the money remained unpaid despite demands for repayment. Jovian maintained that the payments were investments in his business.
The High Court in 2024 granted summary judgment in both cases after finding that his defence lacked sufficient supporting evidence.
A summary judgment allows a court to decide a claim without a full trial when the defendant fails to demonstrate a genuine issue requiring determination at trial.
Hafiz Mahmund and Aawaisha Pillai represented Jovian, while Siti Nur Athirazatti Rohizad and Kausar Khairi appeared for the companies.