HO KIN PONG AND ANOTHER v. TAM KOK HUNG AND ANOTHER

HO KIN PONG AND ANOTHER v. TAM KOK HUNG AND ANOTHER

The court rejected the Defendants' expert valuation for relying on inappropriate comparables (predominantly smaller two‑bed flats) and accepted the Plaintiffs' expert valuation based on suitable large three‑bed comparables and proper adjustments, finding on the balance of probabilities that the Plaintiffs suffered a loss of $330,000 plus wasted costs $22,177 with interest; judgment for Plaintiffs for $352,177 and costs to be paid by Defendants to be taxed with certificate for counsel.

Citation
HO KIN PONG AND ANOTHER v. TAM KOK HUNG AND ANOTHER
Parties
1st Plaintiff: HO KIN PONG; 2nd Plaintiff: LO YIN; 1st Defendant: TAM KOK HUNG; 2nd Defendant: MAK WAI MAN; Third Party: WONG WING
Court
District Court
Jurisdiction
Hong Kong
Judgment Date
24 March 2011
Case Number
DCCJ624/2010
Procedural Posture
Civil Action Breach of Contract (sale and Purchase of Property) / Judgment on Assessment of Damages Following Interlocutory Judgment; Trial on Expert Valuation Evidence
Outcome
Judgment for the Plaintiffs for damages totaling $352,177 with interest; costs to be paid by the Defendants to the Plaintiffs, to be taxed if not agreed, with certificate for counsel; order nisi made.
Legal Topics
Damages for Breach of Contract, Market Valuation of Property, Expert Evidence and Comparables, Wasted Costs and Expenses, Measure of Loss (loss of Bargain)
Source Language
EN
Contract Law Property Law Evidence Civil Procedure Damages for Breach of Contract Market Valuation of Property Expert Evidence and Comparables Wasted Costs and Expenses +1 more

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Parties

HO KIN PONG

1st Plaintiff

LO YIN

2nd Plaintiff

TAM KOK HUNG

1st Defendant

MAK WAI MAN

2nd Defendant

WONG WING

Third Party

Procedural Posture

Civil Action Breach of Contract (sale and Purchase of Property) / Judgment on Assessment of Damages Following Interlocutory Judgment; Trial on Expert Valuation Evidence

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the Defendants' default caused loss to the Plaintiffs
  2. 2 What was the market value of the property as at the contract completion date
  3. 3 Whether the comparables and adjustments used by experts were appropriate

Ratio Decidendi

The court rejected the Defendants' expert valuation for relying on inappropriate comparables (predominantly smaller two‑bed flats) and accepted the Plaintiffs' expert valuation based on suitable large three‑bed comparables and proper adjustments, finding on the balance of probabilities that the Plaintiffs suffered a loss of $330,000 plus wasted costs $22,177 with interest; judgment for Plaintiffs for $352,177 and costs to be paid by Defendants to be taxed with certificate for counsel.

Court Disposition

Judgment for the Plaintiffs for damages totaling $352,177 with interest; costs to be paid by the Defendants to the Plaintiffs, to be taxed if not agreed, with certificate for counsel; order nisi made.

Orders

  • Judgment for the Plaintiffs for damages of HKD 352,177 with interest
  • Defendants to pay the costs of the main action to the Plaintiffs, to be taxed if not agreed, with certificate for counsel