RE LIU LEE YUK

RE LIU LEE YUK

The Full Bench has jurisdiction under Order 52 to hear contempt linked to District Court matrimonial proceedings; Matrimonial Causes Rule 121 does not prevent a party obtaining a sealed copy from the Registrar and does not itself prohibit a party from serving that copy, but serving sealed ex parte orders on third parties when not reasonably necessary and for collateral purposes that foreseeably harass or pressurize the other party constitutes an abuse of process and may amount to contempt; on the facts the husband's conduct in obtaining documents, misusing ex parte relief, circulating parts of the orders to third parties and failing to disclose recipients amounted to abuse and contempt...

Citation
RE LIU LEE YUK
Parties
Applicant (wife): Liu Lee Yuk Ching; Respondent (husband): Liu Ming Sun
Court
Court of First Instance
Jurisdiction
Hong Kong
Judgment Date
28 July 1982
Case Number
HCMP814/1982
Procedural Posture
Contempt/committal Application Arising From Matrimonial Proceedings / Full Bench Hearing for Leave to Apply for Committal and Final Hearing on Motion Under Order 52
Outcome
Husband found to have abused court process and committed contempt by conduct and breach of undertakings; committal not ordered; husband ordered to pay wife's costs on solicitor-and-own-client basis and to give specified undertakings
Legal Topics
Abuse of Process, Service of Orders on Third Parties, Ex Parte Applications, Undertakings, Jurisdiction of Full Bench, Matrimonial Causes Rule 121, Publication of Orders, Committal
Source Language
EN
Contempt of Court Family Law Civil Procedure Injunctions Company Law Abuse of Process Service of Orders on Third Parties Ex Parte Applications +5 more

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Parties

Liu Lee Yuk Ching

Applicant (wife)

Liu Ming Sun

Respondent (husband)

Procedural Posture

Contempt/committal Application Arising From Matrimonial Proceedings / Full Bench Hearing for Leave to Apply for Committal and Final Hearing on Motion Under Order 52

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether Full Bench had jurisdiction to hear contempt arising from District Court matrimonial proceedings
  2. 2 Whether Matrimonial Causes Rule 121/Publication of Information Ordinance prohibited party-issued circulation of sealed chambers orders to third parties
  3. 3 Whether service of sealed copies of ex parte injunction orders on third parties without necessity constituted contempt or abuse of process

Ratio Decidendi

The Full Bench has jurisdiction under Order 52 to hear contempt linked to District Court matrimonial proceedings; Matrimonial Causes Rule 121 does not prevent a party obtaining a sealed copy from the Registrar and does not itself prohibit a party from serving that copy, but serving sealed ex parte orders on third parties when not reasonably necessary and for collateral purposes that foreseeably harass or pressurize the other party constitutes an abuse of process and may amount to contempt; on the facts the husband's conduct in obtaining documents, misusing ex parte relief, circulating parts of the orders to third parties and failing to disclose recipients amounted to abuse and contempt...

Court Disposition

Husband found to have abused court process and committed contempt by conduct and breach of undertakings; committal not ordered; husband ordered to pay wife's costs on solicitor-and-own-client basis and to give specified undertakings

Orders

  • Husband to pay applicant's costs of these proceedings on a solicitor-and-own-client basis
  • Husband to disclose to the wife the names and addresses of all persons and entities to whom copies of either order were sent or served