PUTRAJAYA: Fashion designer Datuk Jovian Mandagie has failed in his bid to overturn two High Court decisions ordering him to repay RM10 million in friendly loans to two companies.
The Court of Appeal today dismissed his appeals against summary judgments obtained by Bina Pragmatik Sdn Bhd and Cekap Air Sdn Bhd in a 2-1 majority decision.
The three-member bench, chaired by Datuk Wong Kian Kheong, ruled that Jovian had failed to raise any triable issues warranting a full trial.
Justice Datuk Seri Mohd Firuz Jaffril concurred, while Justice Datin Evrol Mariette Peters dissented.
In delivering the majority decision, Wong said Jovian had failed to produce sufficient evidence to support his claim that the RM10 million received from the two companies was intended as business investments rather than loans.
He said Jovian had not discharged his evidential burden to show that the claims should proceed to a full trial.
The court upheld the High Court's orders requiring him to repay RM5 million to each company and ordered him to pay RM60,000 in costs.
In her dissenting judgment, Peters said the appeals should have been allowed and the disputes heard at a full trial to establish the true nature of the transactions.
She said the transfer of money into law firms' client accounts did not, by itself, establish that the payments were loans.
Peters also noted that neither company had produced contemporaneous written documents establishing the alleged friendly loan agreements.
She said even the letters of demand issued to Jovian did not refer to the purported loan arrangements.
The judge further said that Jovian had filed an affidavit stating that the payments were business investments, but the companies had not filed counter-affidavits to rebut his claims.
She said these circumstances raised questions that warranted examination at a full trial rather than disposal through summary judgments.
The dispute began in 2022 when the two companies allegedly extended separate RM5 million friendly loans to Jovian under oral agreements.
Cekap Air claimed it transferred RM5 million into a law firm's client account on Feb 25, 2022, while Bina Pragmatik made a similar transfer on March 25 that year.
Both companies maintained that the loans were extended on the understanding that Jovian would repay the money within 12 months.
They claimed he failed to repay the loans despite repeated demands, prompting them to file separate civil suits on May 16, 2023.
On April 2 and 4, 2024, High Court judge Datuk Ahmad Fairuz Zainol Abidin allowed the companies' applications for summary judgment, ordering Jovian to repay the money without a full trial.
Jovian appealed against both decisions.
He was also declared bankrupt by the Kuala Lumpur High Court on July 3 last year after failing to settle RM5.28 million, including interest, owed to Cekap Air.
The bankruptcy order followed a creditor's petition filed by the company on Nov 20, 2024, after Jovian failed to comply with the earlier summary judgment.
On Feb 20 this year, High Court judge Jamhirah Ali dismissed his application to set aside the bankruptcy order and his application to stay the decision.
Jovian was previously married to Nina Sabrina, the daughter of former prime minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
Lawyers Hafiz Mahmund and Aawaisha Pillai represented Jovian, while Siti Nur Athirazatti Rohizad and Muhammad Kausar Mohd Khairi appeared for Bina Pragmatik and Cekap Air.
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