FRED LEE v. CHING PO CHEUNG

FRED LEE v. CHING PO CHEUNG

The trustee failed to conduct reasonable investigation and therefore did not discharge his quasi-judicial obligations; taking a global view of relevant factors, the court disallowed the trustee's costs from the estate, including costs for this application.

Citation
FRED LEE v. CHING PO CHEUNG
Parties
Applicant (trustee): Fred Lee, trustee of the property of Ching Po Cheung, a bankrupt; Respondent (bankrupt): Ching Po Cheung
Court
Court of First Instance
Jurisdiction
Hong Kong
Judgment Date
13 November 2007
Case Number
HCB17353/2002
Procedural Posture
Bankruptcy Proceedings / Hearing on Trustee's Objection to Discharge and Variation of Costs Order Before Master Lung (application Withdrawn)
Outcome
Trustee's costs disallowed from the bankrupt's estate; trustee's application withdrawn and variation refused.
Legal Topics
Trustee Costs, Bankrupt Discharge, Section 30 a Unsatisfactory Conduct, Quasi Judicial Obligations, Conditional Discharge, Misrepresentation in Loan Application
Source Language
EN
Bankruptcy Civil Procedure Costs Trustee Costs Bankrupt Discharge Section 30 a Unsatisfactory Conduct Quasi Judicial Obligations Conditional Discharge +1 more

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Parties

Fred Lee, trustee of the property of Ching Po Cheung, a bankrupt

Applicant (trustee)

Ching Po Cheung

Respondent (bankrupt)

Procedural Posture

Bankruptcy Proceedings / Hearing on Trustee's Objection to Discharge and Variation of Costs Order Before Master Lung (application Withdrawn)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the trustee is entitled to recover his costs from the bankrupt's estate after withdrawing the objection to discharge
  2. 2 Whether the trustee discharged his quasi-judicial obligations before taking out the objection
  3. 3 Whether costs should be limited to the hearing before Master Kwang/Judge Kwan

Ratio Decidendi

The trustee failed to conduct reasonable investigation and therefore did not discharge his quasi-judicial obligations; taking a global view of relevant factors, the court disallowed the trustee's costs from the estate, including costs for this application.

Court Disposition

Trustee's costs disallowed from the bankrupt's estate; trustee's application withdrawn and variation refused.

Orders

  • Confirm order disallowing the trustee's costs of his objection to discharge from the estate.
  • Disallow the trustee's costs for the variation application and for this application from the estate.