SINGAPORE - NTUC Foodfare Cooperative is seeking about $443,000 in losses and damages from SIA Engineering and one of its employees following an accident that took place at Changi Airport Terminal 2 on Feb 13, 2014.

On the first day of the trial in the High Court on Tuesday (May 23), the court heard SIA Engineering employee Yap Tee Chuan, 47, was driving a ground-handling vehicle that day when it hit a pillar that stood a floor below the departure transit area.

The incident caused the floor of the area directly above the pillar to "cave in". CANTU Foodfare's lawyers, Mr N. K . Rajarh and Mr Daryl Cheong from Straits Law Practice, said that a Wang Cafe outlet which their client ran was located there.

As a result of the incident, the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) issued a closure order for the area.

NTUC Foodfare had a meeting with its landlord, the Changi Airport Group (CAG), on March 18 that year and was soon after told to rebuild the kiosk structure.

However, the court heard the plaintiff's lease at that time was due to expire on April 30, 2015.

The lawyers said: "The plaintiff's issue was the financial viability of undertaking such works if there was no possibility of a renewal of the lease."

On July 7, 2014, NTUC Foodfare was informed to pursue its claims against SIA Engineering instead of CAG and the BCA lifted the closure order later that month.

CAG told NTUC Foodfare that it had to restart operations there by Aug 7, 2014, and rental would also be charged from that day.

However, the plaintiff still had to confirm its course of action - whether to rebuild the kiosk - before it could start operations.

Its lawyers said: "The plaintiff was only able to proceed with the rectification works to the kiosk once it had received the assurance that its lease would be renewed."

In October 2014, NTUC Foodfare's lease there was extended from May 1, 2015, to April 30, 2018.

It rebuilt the damaged kiosk which was reopened sometime in October to November that year.

It is now seeking losses and damages from SIA Engineering. The amount which came up to around $443,000 includes $171,017 for loss of gross profit and $82,838.33 for rebuilding the damaged kiosk.

SIA Engineering and Mr Yap are represented by lawyers Kevin Kwek and Gina Tan from Legal Solutions.

In their defence, they said NTUC Foodfare's loss of gross profit of $171,017 had already been settled in its insurance claims.

The defendants' lawyers, who are asking for the plantiff's actions to be dismissed, said: "It is well established that an insured (party) should not profit from his own loss. The defendants will show at this trial that the plaintiff suffered no physical damage and that all claims which the plaintiff is seeking are pure economic losses."

The trial continues on Wednesday (May 24).