Court dismisses application to postpone proceedings of MH370 case

KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court today dismissed an application for a stay, pending the outcome of a civil suit in the United States, filed by families of passengers of MH370 which had disappeared on March 8, 2014.
High Court judicial commissioner Azizul Azmi Adnan dismissed the application with a total of RM9,000 in costs to be paid to the defendants.
He ordered RM3,000 each to be paid to Malaysian Airline System Berhad (MAS) and Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB).
He also ordered a total of RM3,000 to be paid (collectively) to the Director General of Civil Aviation Malaysia, Department of Civil Aviation (DCA), Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) and the government.
Thirty-two China nationals, the family members of the passengers, filed the suit seeking for damages.
He said to grant a stay of application, there must be special circumstances shown and that to prevent "multiplicity of action."
He said there is prejudice to the defendants (DG, DCA, RMAF and government) in having the Malaysian action hanging over them for uncertain duration as they are not defendants in the US suit.
Taking into consideration the balance of justice and convenience, Azizul dismissed the application.