PUTRAJAYA, July 16 — Tealive bubble tea brand outlets can continue to operate its business for now after its owner, Loob Holding Sdn Bhd, succeeded in obtaining an interim stay from the Federal Court against an interim injunction obtained by Taiwan’s La Kaffa International Co Ltd for the Malaysian company to cease operating a business similar to Chatime.
Loob Holding was granted the interim stay pending hearing of its application for leave to appeal to the Federal Court against a Court of Appeal’s decision in granting the interim injunction to La Kaffa.
On June 27 this year, the Court of Appeal granted the interim injunction order sought by La Kaffa to prohibit Loob Holding from operating its business similar to Chatime pending disposal of the company’s (La Kaffa) arbitration dispute in Singapore International Arbitration Centre for damages from Loob Holding for alleged breach of the franchise agreement.
Today, the Federal Court three-man bench, comprising Tan Sri Ramly Ali, Datuk Seri Balia Yusof Wahi and Datuk Mohd Zawawi Salleh, granted Loob Holding the interim stay against the interim injunction pending hearing of its leave to appeal application in the Federal Court.
Justice Ramly said there was special circumstances to allow the stay.
Lawyer Datuk Loh Siew Cheang, representing Loob Holding, earlier submitted that if the stay order was not granted, 179 tealive outlets would have to cease operation immediately and its employees would be out of job.
He said La Kaffa did not seek for injunction order in its arbitration dispute in Singapore, but instead wanted to be awarded for damages.
Loh said the court of appeal in a majority decision had rejected his client’s application for a stay order.
Counsel Christopher Leong, who also represented Loob Holding, said there was no prejudice if the stay was granted because the High Court had ordered the company (Loob Holding) to affirm an affidavit every month to state the amount of gross monthly sales from Tealive.
La Kaffa’s counsel, Khoo Guat Huat, argued his client did not seek an injunction order in Singapore because the proceedings there was on arbitration dispute and not a lawsuit.
He said Loob Holding had eight other franchise businesses and thus the employees from tealive outlets could be deployed to the other businesses.
“We are not stopping them from running a business, we are saying don’t copy our menu,” Khoo said.
La Kaffa lost its case in the High Court on May 29 last year, prompting the company to appeal to the Court of Appeal, which subsequently ruled in favour of La Kaffa and granted the interim injunction.
The dispute between La Kaffa and Loob Holding started in early December 2016 when the Taiwanese company terminated the master franchise agreement between the two parties even though there were more than 20 years left on the deal. — Bernama
