CHINA NATIONAL ARTS AND CRAFTS IMPORT & EXPORT CORPORATION ZHEJIANG BRANCH AND ANOTHER v. SEALAND SERVICE INC. AND OTHERS

CHINA NATIONAL ARTS AND CRAFTS IMPORT & EXPORT CORPORATION ZHEJIANG BRANCH AND ANOTHER v. SEALAND SERVICE INC. AND OTHERS

The court held that the interrogatories administered by the second defendant need not be answered because they were either irrelevant to the issues defined by the pleadings or improperly aimed at discovering evidential material rather than establishing facts necessary to dispose fairly of the proceedings and save costs; consequently the plaintiffs' application succeeded and an order nisi for costs against the second defendant was made.

Citation
CHINA NATIONAL ARTS AND CRAFTS IMPORT & EXPORT CORPORATION ZHEJIANG BRANCH AND ANOTHER v. SEALAND SERVICE INC. AND OTHERS
Parties
First Plaintiff: CHINA NATIONAL ARTS AND CRAFTS IMPORT & EXPORT CORPORATION ZHEJIANG BRANCH; Second Plaintiff: JACOB ASH CO. INC; First Defendant: SEALAND SERVICE INC.; Second Defendant: HOI KONG CONTAINER SERVICES CO. LTD.; Third Defendant: FREIGHT-TRANS INTERNATIONAL CO LTD.; First Third Party: FREIGHT-TRANS INTERNATIONAL CO LTD.; Second Third Party: HOI KONG CONTAINER SERVICES CO. LTD.
Court
Court of First Instance
Jurisdiction
Hong Kong
Judgment Date
16 December 1998
Case Number
HCCL90/1990
Procedural Posture
Civil Tort/contract (bailee Duties and Carriage of Goods) / Interlocutory Application: Plaintiffs Seek Withdrawal/variation of Defendant's Interrogatories; Case Management Directions Sought
Outcome
Plaintiffs' application granted in full; interrogatories need not be answered; order nisi for costs against the second defendant; case management directions issued.
Legal Topics
Interrogatories, Discovery Relevance, Bailee Duties, Title to Goods, Particulars, Costs, Case Management/directions
Source Language
EN
Civil Procedure Evidence Contract Tort Carriage of Goods Interrogatories Discovery Relevance Bailee Duties +4 more

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Parties

CHINA NATIONAL ARTS AND CRAFTS IMPORT & EXPORT CORPORATION ZHEJIANG BRANCH

First Plaintiff

JACOB ASH CO. INC

Second Plaintiff

SEALAND SERVICE INC.

First Defendant

HOI KONG CONTAINER SERVICES CO. LTD.

Second Defendant

FREIGHT-TRANS INTERNATIONAL CO LTD.

Third Defendant

FREIGHT-TRANS INTERNATIONAL CO LTD.

First Third Party

HOI KONG CONTAINER SERVICES CO. LTD.

Second Third Party

Procedural Posture

Civil Tort/contract (bailee Duties and Carriage of Goods) / Interlocutory Application: Plaintiffs Seek Withdrawal/variation of Defendant's Interrogatories; Case Management Directions Sought

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the interrogatories administered by the second defendant are relevant and must be answered
  2. 2 Whether interrogatories improperly seek disclosure of evidential material rather than facts necessary to define the issues
  3. 3 When title to the goods passed and whether interrogatories are necessary to determine which plaintiff has a cause of action

Ratio Decidendi

The court held that the interrogatories administered by the second defendant need not be answered because they were either irrelevant to the issues defined by the pleadings or improperly aimed at discovering evidential material rather than establishing facts necessary to dispose fairly of the proceedings and save costs; consequently the plaintiffs' application succeeded and an order nisi for costs against the second defendant was made.

Court Disposition

Plaintiffs' application granted in full; interrogatories need not be answered; order nisi for costs against the second defendant; case management directions issued.

Orders

  • None of the interrogatories administered by the second defendant to the plaintiffs shall be answered by the plaintiffs
  • There is an order nisi that the second defendant pay the plaintiffs' costs of the application regarding interrogatories