KRISTAN BOWERS PHILLIPS v. INITIAL ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES LTD. and Others

KRISTAN BOWERS PHILLIPS v. INITIAL ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES LTD. and Others

The court exercised its discretion to order costs on a common fund basis because the litigation displayed special and unusual features — exceptional complexity, multiple defendants and inter-partes conflicts, extensive and late discovery, voluminous expert and documentary evidence, and the plaintiff's disability and displacement — which made party-and-party taxation inequitable; a certificate for a third counsel was warranted by the scale of the case.

Citation
KRISTAN BOWERS PHILLIPS v. INITIAL ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES LTD. and Others
Parties
Plaintiff (by His Next Friend Philip G. Higgins): Kristan Bowers Phillips; Next Friend to Plaintiff: Philip G. Higgins; 1st Defendant: Initial Environmental Services Limited (formerly Exclusive Environmental Services Limited); 2nd Defendant: The Hong Kong Philharmonic Society Limited; 3rd Defendant: The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts; 4th Defendant: Ciba-Geigy (Hong Kong) Limited; 5th Defendant: Wong Ching Ho Company Limited
Court
Court of First Instance
Jurisdiction
Hong Kong
Judgment Date
6 February 1998
Case Number
HCPI580/1996
Procedural Posture
Personal Injuries / Costs Determination (ruling on Taxation Basis and Certificate for Counsel)
Outcome
Court ordered that the defendants pay the plaintiff's costs on a common fund basis and granted a certificate for a third (second junior) counsel; 2nd and 3rd defendants to bear their own costs regarding their contractual dispute.
Legal Topics
Common Fund Costs, Discovery, Expert Evidence, Causation, Apportionment of Costs, Certificate for Additional Counsel
Source Language
EN
Personal Injury Civil Procedure Costs Common Fund Costs Discovery Expert Evidence Causation Apportionment of Costs +1 more

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Parties

Kristan Bowers Phillips

Plaintiff (by His Next Friend Philip G. Higgins)

Philip G. Higgins

Next Friend to Plaintiff

Initial Environmental Services Limited (formerly Exclusive Environmental Services Limited)

1st Defendant

The Hong Kong Philharmonic Society Limited

2nd Defendant

The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts

3rd Defendant

Ciba-Geigy (Hong Kong) Limited

4th Defendant

Wong Ching Ho Company Limited

5th Defendant

Procedural Posture

Personal Injuries / Costs Determination (ruling on Taxation Basis and Certificate for Counsel)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the court should exercise its discretion to order costs to be taxed on the common fund basis
  2. 2 Whether the plaintiff's disability and consequent litigation burdens justify a more generous costs order
  3. 3 Whether the conduct of the defendants (late/piecemeal discovery, multiplicity of contested issues) justifies departure from party-and-party costs

Ratio Decidendi

The court exercised its discretion to order costs on a common fund basis because the litigation displayed special and unusual features — exceptional complexity, multiple defendants and inter-partes conflicts, extensive and late discovery, voluminous expert and documentary evidence, and the plaintiff's disability and displacement — which made party-and-party taxation inequitable; a certificate for a third counsel was warranted by the scale of the case.

Court Disposition

Court ordered that the defendants pay the plaintiff's costs on a common fund basis and granted a certificate for a third (second junior) counsel; 2nd and 3rd defendants to bear their own costs regarding their contractual dispute.

Orders

  • 2nd and 3rd Defendants to bear their own costs in respect of their contractual dispute