HWANG JOON SANG AND ANOTHER v. GOLDEN ELECTRONICS INC. AND OTHERS

HWANG JOON SANG AND ANOTHER v. GOLDEN ELECTRONICS INC. AND OTHERS

The court exercised its discretion under the Hadkinson principle and refused to permit the Defendants to be heard on their Discharge and Stay applications until they complied with the outstanding disclosure orders because the defendants had been in prolonged, contumacious breach without satisfactory excuse, disclosure was necessary to prevent an impediment to justice and there were no adequate alternative protections; a Hadkinson order was granted with a short compliance period.

Citation
[2021] HKCFI 1973
Parties
1st Plaintiff: HWANG JOON SANG; 2nd Plaintiff: FUTURE CELL PLUS CO., LTD; 1st Defendant: GOLDEN ELECTRONICS INC.; 2nd Defendant: WORLDBEST GLOBAL SUPPLIER INC.; 3rd Defendant: HARMONY ELECTRONICS INC.; 4th Defendant: QUANTUM ELECTRONICS INC.; 5th Defendant: JIN MIAO INTERNATIONAL LIMITED; 6th Defendant: VIVIEN CHUNG YING-YIN; 7th Defendant: MAGIC ELECTRONICS INC.
Court
Court of First Instance
Jurisdiction
Hong Kong
Judgment Date
6 July 2021
Case Number
HCA1529/2019
Procedural Posture
Civil Proprietary Claims, Fiduciary Duty, Mareva/freezing Injunctions / Interlocutory Applications: Hadkinson Application, Discharge (to Discharge Injunctions) and Stay Summonses Pending; Interlocutory Hearing and Directions
Outcome
Hadkinson order granted; Defendants ordered to comply with outstanding disclosure by specified deadline; Discharge and Stay summonses adjourned for hearing; costs reserved.
Legal Topics
Mareva Injunction, Proprietary Injunction, Freezing Order, Disclosure Order, Hadkinson Rule, Material Non Disclosure, Tracing, Fiduciary Duties, Unjust Enrichment, Stay of Disclosure
Source Language
EN
Civil Litigation Equity Company Law Injunctions Contempt Mareva Injunction Proprietary Injunction Freezing Order +7 more

Case Brief

Summary, issues, holding and outcome

More case intelligence is available

Unlock the full research layer for this judgment.

Full judgment text Downloadable case file Legal principles 6 Authorities cited 6 Party arguments 2 Amounts and remedies 1
Sign in to unlock

Parties

HWANG JOON SANG

1st Plaintiff

FUTURE CELL PLUS CO., LTD

2nd Plaintiff

GOLDEN ELECTRONICS INC.

1st Defendant

WORLDBEST GLOBAL SUPPLIER INC.

2nd Defendant

HARMONY ELECTRONICS INC.

3rd Defendant

QUANTUM ELECTRONICS INC.

4th Defendant

JIN MIAO INTERNATIONAL LIMITED

5th Defendant

VIVIEN CHUNG YING-YIN

6th Defendant

MAGIC ELECTRONICS INC.

7th Defendant

Procedural Posture

Civil Proprietary Claims, Fiduciary Duty, Mareva/freezing Injunctions / Interlocutory Applications: Hadkinson Application, Discharge (to Discharge Injunctions) and Stay Summonses Pending; Interlocutory Hearing and Directions

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether court should refuse to hear discharge/application because defendants are in contempt under Hadkinson
  2. 2 Whether the exception permitting a contemnor to apply to set aside the order giving rise to contempt applies
  3. 3 Whether defendants' claimed fear from threatening messages justified long non-compliance

Ratio Decidendi

The court exercised its discretion under the Hadkinson principle and refused to permit the Defendants to be heard on their Discharge and Stay applications until they complied with the outstanding disclosure orders because the defendants had been in prolonged, contumacious breach without satisfactory excuse, disclosure was necessary to prevent an impediment to justice and there were no adequate alternative protections; a Hadkinson order was granted with a short compliance period.

Court Disposition

Hadkinson order granted; Defendants ordered to comply with outstanding disclosure by specified deadline; Discharge and Stay summonses adjourned for hearing; costs reserved.

Orders

  • Hadkinson order granted refusing to hear Discharge/Summons until compliance with disclosure orders
  • Defendants 1st to 7th to comply with the ancillary disclosure orders by 2 August 2021