KUALA LUMPUR: Law firm Zaid Ibrahim & Co (ZICO) will not hand over documents sought by its founder Datuk Zaid Ibrahim for his lawsuit to stop his old law firm from using its current name.
The former law minister had filed a discovery application to obtain the documents for his suit against the firm.
Lawyer Tan Sri Tommy Thomas who represented ZICO said they are objecting to the application on grounds that Zaid is not entitled to the documents.
"These documents are in his possession. If he has got it in his possession he is not entitled to it. He shouldn't be coming to us and asking us (for the documents)," Thomas said.
He added that the claims Zaid made that he still has 5% equity in the law firm was illegal, untrue and not credible.
This, he said was because the law does not allow non-practicing lawyers to have interest in a law firm after leaving private practice.
He said in 2008, Zaid had left the firm he founded after the latter was appointed as a law minister.
"There is nothing unusual about this. It applies to all the members of the Bar (Malaysian Bar Council) because when they leave practice, they cannot have interest any longer," he said.
Thomas also said Zaid's action to file a second civil action (for discovery) against the same defendants arising out of the same cause of action does not make sense.
He added that there was no reason Zaid could not consolidate the discovery application with the first civil action.
Meanwhile, Zaid's lawyer Datuk Malik Imtiaz Sarwar denied the allegation made by the law firm that the application was a "fishing expedition".
He argued that there was no rule saying that he was not allowed to file a second civil action on the discovery.
"We were taken by surprise by the third point (Thomas' argument on the 5% purported equity) which was not raised in his written submissions," he said adding that he will have to take it at the other proceeding.
Judge Datuk Akhtar Tahir then asked for parties to submit additional submissions on two other matters in the discovery application.
The two matters were concerning the purported 5% stake Zaid claimed he still owns in his old law firm as well as on why Zaid filed the discovery application at Akhtar's court instead of judge Datuk Ahmad Bache's court, where Zaid's suit is scheduled to be heard.
The judge then ordered for parties to file their written submissions on April 27 and fixed May 10 for decision on the discovery application.
Zaid filed the discovery application in December, last year, seeking for his former partners, the firm's executive chairman Datuk Seri Nik Norzrul Thani Nik Hassan Thani, its former managing partner Chew Seng Kok and ZICO to disclose documents which were relevant to his suit.
The former federal minister filed the suit against his former law firm in November, the same year, seeking for an injunction to bar ZICO from using his name "Zaid Ibrahim" and in any form or style by the firm.
The hearing of the firm's application to strike out the suit before Ahmad has been fixed on May 10, the same day as the decision of the discovery application.