CHAN KING WAN AND OTHERS v. HONEST SCAFFOLD GENERAL CONTRACTOR CO. LTD.

CHAN KING WAN AND OTHERS v. HONEST SCAFFOLD GENERAL CONTRACTOR CO. LTD.

The court accepted the plaintiffs' evidence that wages, dividends and reimbursements paid to the deceased formed part of their income, applied the percentage method for dependency valuation per Seagroatt/Tsang, adopted multipliers of 10 and 15 for the respective deceased based on working life evidence, awarded loss of accumulation because of an established savings pattern, allowed loss of services to children but not spouses, disallowed probate/legal costs under LARCO s20(2)(b)(i), and reduced awards by 40% for contributory negligence resulting in judgments against the 2nd defendant for specified sums.

Citation
CHAN KING WAN AND OTHERS v. HONEST SCAFFOLD GENERAL CONTRACTOR CO. LTD.
Parties
1st Plaintiffs: Chan King Wan and Yip Siu Yin, Administratrices of the estate of Leung Hoi Sung, deceased; 2nd Plaintiffs: Poon Chung Kam and Ng Wai Ling, Administratrices of the estate of Leung Kit Chuen, deceased; 1st Defendant: Honest Scaffold General Contractor Company Limited; 2nd Defendant: Kai Tai Construction and Engineering Company Limited
Court
Court of First Instance
Jurisdiction
Hong Kong
Judgment Date
4 July 2000
Case Number
HCPI1269/1996
Procedural Posture
Personal Injuries / Wrongful Death / Assessment of Damages (judgment)
Outcome
Judgment for the 1st plaintiff against the 2nd defendant for HKD 4,367,347.54 and for the 2nd plaintiff against the 2nd defendant for HKD 8,005,859.19; interest and costs as specified.
Legal Topics
Assessment of Dependency, Inclusion of Dividends as Income, Loss of Accumulation of Wealth, Contributory Negligence Apportionment, Loss of Services, Recoverability of Estate Administration Costs, Interest on Awards
Source Language
EN
Tort Personal Injury Wrongful Death Damages Law Statutory Construction (larco) Assessment of Dependency Inclusion of Dividends as Income Loss of Accumulation of Wealth +4 more

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Parties

Chan King Wan and Yip Siu Yin, Administratrices of the estate of Leung Hoi Sung, deceased

1st Plaintiffs

Poon Chung Kam and Ng Wai Ling, Administratrices of the estate of Leung Kit Chuen, deceased

2nd Plaintiffs

Honest Scaffold General Contractor Company Limited

1st Defendant

Kai Tai Construction and Engineering Company Limited

2nd Defendant

Procedural Posture

Personal Injuries / Wrongful Death / Assessment of Damages (judgment)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether dividends and reimbursements form part of deceaseds' income for dependency calculations
  2. 2 Appropriate method to value dependency (percentage approach v notional dependency)
  3. 3 Selection of multiplier for future loss

Ratio Decidendi

The court accepted the plaintiffs' evidence that wages, dividends and reimbursements paid to the deceased formed part of their income, applied the percentage method for dependency valuation per Seagroatt/Tsang, adopted multipliers of 10 and 15 for the respective deceased based on working life evidence, awarded loss of accumulation because of an established savings pattern, allowed loss of services to children but not spouses, disallowed probate/legal costs under LARCO s20(2)(b)(i), and reduced awards by 40% for contributory negligence resulting in judgments against the 2nd defendant for specified sums.

Court Disposition

Judgment for the 1st plaintiff against the 2nd defendant for HKD 4,367,347.54 and for the 2nd plaintiff against the 2nd defendant for HKD 8,005,859.19; interest and costs as specified.

Orders

  • Judgment for 1st plaintiff against 2nd defendant for HK$4,367,347.54 with interest; costs to be taxed if not agreed
  • Judgment for 2nd plaintiff against 2nd defendant for HK$8,005,859.19 with interest; costs to be taxed if not agreed