LI NGAN KWAN AND OTHERS v. GAO LI HUI AND OTHERS

LI NGAN KWAN AND OTHERS v. GAO LI HUI AND OTHERS

Leave to appeal was refused because the plaintiffs exhibited an inordinate and inexcusable 13-year delay without satisfactory explanation; the proposed amendments introduced new causes and factual bases not properly pleaded (including forgery, dishonest assistance and conspiracy), lacked a real prospect of success...

Source-derived case information.

Citation
[2022] HKCFI 171
Parties
1st Plaintiff: LI NGAN KWAN; 2nd Plaintiff: SUN GUANG YUE; 3rd Plaintiff (struck Out): EXCEL GAINER INVESTMENT LIMITED; 1st Defendant: GAO LI HUI; 2nd Defendant: XU AO MEI; 3rd Defendant (discontinued): FU WEN HUA; 4th Defendant: CHAN WAI SHING & SUN LUP CHUNG trading as 'CHAN AND Associates' (a firm); 5th Defendant (added): EXCEL GAINER INVESTMENT LIMITED
Court
Court of First Instance
Jurisdiction
Hong Kong
Judgment Date
13 January 2022
Case Number
HCA933/2007
Procedural Posture
Civil: Application for Leave to Appeal Against Refusal to Grant Amendment of Statement of Claim / Leave to Appeal Application (post Decision)
Outcome
Application for leave to appeal dismissed
Legal Topics
Amendment of Pleadings, Leave to Appeal, Delay and Prejudice, Forgery Claim (deed of Transfer), Resulting Trust/beneficial Ownership, Pleading Rules, Summary Assessment of Costs
Source Language
en
Civil Procedure Trusts and Equitable Remedies Fraud and Dishonest Assistance Costs Amendment of Pleadings Leave to Appeal Delay and Prejudice Forgery Claim (deed of Transfer) +3 more

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Parties

LI NGAN KWAN

1st Plaintiff

SUN GUANG YUE

2nd Plaintiff

EXCEL GAINER INVESTMENT LIMITED

3rd Plaintiff (struck Out)

GAO LI HUI

1st Defendant

XU AO MEI

2nd Defendant

FU WEN HUA

3rd Defendant (discontinued)

CHAN WAI SHING & SUN LUP CHUNG trading as 'CHAN AND Associates' (a firm)

4th Defendant

EXCEL GAINER INVESTMENT LIMITED

5th Defendant (added)

Procedural Posture

Civil: Application for Leave to Appeal Against Refusal to Grant Amendment of Statement of Claim / Leave to Appeal Application (post Decision)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether leave to appeal should be granted
  2. 2 Whether 13 years' delay justified refusal to allow amendment
  3. 3 Whether proposed amendments introduced new causes of action or new factual bases

Ratio Decidendi

Leave to appeal was refused because the plaintiffs exhibited an inordinate and inexcusable 13-year delay without satisfactory explanation; the proposed amendments introduced new causes and factual bases not properly pleaded (including forgery, dishonest assistance and conspiracy), lacked a real prospect of success on the evidence, and caused prejudice; accordingly there was no reasonable prospect of success or other reason in the interests of justice to grant leave; costs awarded to defendants with summary assessment on paper.

Court Disposition

Application for leave to appeal dismissed

Orders

  • Application dismissed with costs to the Defendants
  • Summary assessment of costs to be conducted on the papers without an attendance