The Singaporean Court of Appeal on Proprietary Estoppel Remedies

Abstract

There remains much controversy as to what the remedial approach in proprietary estoppel should be, both in English law and in Singapore. Should the starting point be the fulfilment of expectations, or compensation for detriment? The recent Singaporean Court of Appeal case of Low Heng Leon Andy v Low Kian Beng Lawrence (administrator of the estate of Tan Ah Kng, deceased) [2018] 2 SLR 799 suggests that the choice of remedial approach need not be resolved as a matter of law; it may be sufficient to leave the choice to claimants. This case note provides a critique of -- and ultimately rejects -- that suggestion.

Keywords: Proprietary Estoppel, Singapore, Remedies

JEL Classification: K10, K11, K19