ZHENG LIE LIE AND OTHERS v. PROSPERFIELD VENTURES LTD AND OTHERS

ZHENG LIE LIE AND OTHERS v. PROSPERFIELD VENTURES LTD AND OTHERS

On the balance of probabilities the judge accepted Mr Zheng's credible account that he drafted the Document on 25–26 June 1993 solely to provide information to his solicitor about pending litigation; consequently legal professional privilege attached, the defendants' possession was unauthorised, and equitable relief was appropriate: delivery up of the Document and an injunction restraining its use in the main actions were ordered (costs to plaintiffs, nisi).

Citation
ZHENG LIE LIE AND OTHERS v. PROSPERFIELD VENTURES LTD AND OTHERS
Parties
1st Plaintiff: Zheng Lie Lie; 2nd Plaintiff: Ding Peng; 3rd Plaintiff: Tripole Trading Limited; 4th Plaintiff: China Projects Limited; 1st Defendant: Prosperfield Ventures Limited; 2nd Defendant: Panco Industrial Holdings Limited
Court
Court of First Instance
Jurisdiction
Hong Kong
Judgment Date
18 March 2003
Case Number
HCA4572/2002
Procedural Posture
Civil Litigation (related Company/shareholder Disputes) / Trial of Application for Interlocutory Injunction Prior to Main Trial (application for Delivery Up and Restraint of Use of Document)
Outcome
Application granted
Legal Topics
Legal Professional Privilege, Injunction for Confidential Information, Discovery, Waiver of Privilege, Secondary Evidence
Source Language
EN
Civil Procedure Evidence Equity Company Law Confidentiality Law Legal Professional Privilege Injunction for Confidential Information Discovery +2 more

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Parties

Zheng Lie Lie

1st Plaintiff

Ding Peng

2nd Plaintiff

Tripole Trading Limited

3rd Plaintiff

China Projects Limited

4th Plaintiff

Prosperfield Ventures Limited

1st Defendant

Panco Industrial Holdings Limited

2nd Defendant

Procedural Posture

Civil Litigation (related Company/shareholder Disputes) / Trial of Application for Interlocutory Injunction Prior to Main Trial (application for Delivery Up and Restraint of Use of Document)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the 28 page handwritten Document is protected by legal professional privilege
  2. 2 Whether privilege was waived or lost by disclosure to third parties
  3. 3 Whether the defendants' possession was unauthorised and obtained improperly

Ratio Decidendi

On the balance of probabilities the judge accepted Mr Zheng's credible account that he drafted the Document on 25–26 June 1993 solely to provide information to his solicitor about pending litigation; consequently legal professional privilege attached, the defendants' possession was unauthorised, and equitable relief was appropriate: delivery up of the Document and an injunction restraining its use in the main actions were ordered (costs to plaintiffs, nisi).

Court Disposition

Application granted

Orders

  • Defendants to deliver up the Document and all copies in their possession to the plaintiffs
  • Defendants restrained from making any use of the information contained in the Document in the trial of the main actions