BEATRICE TSANG SAU HING AND ANOTHER v. YEUNG MAN LOONG MAXLY AND OTHERS

BEATRICE TSANG SAU HING AND ANOTHER v. YEUNG MAN LOONG MAXLY AND OTHERS

Costs of Mr Chan were disallowed because his evidence was of little assistance and overlapped with another professional; costs of Mr Lo are recoverable on taxation but only to the extent they relate to his assistance with the ledger accounts (joint account, K Kwok account and Kwok Kee account); the taxing master to...

Source-derived case information.

Citation
BEATRICE TSANG SAU HING AND ANOTHER v. YEUNG MAN LOONG MAXLY AND OTHERS
Parties
1st Petitioner: Beatrice Tsang Sau Hing; 2nd Petitioner: Luana Tsang Sau Kuen; 1st Respondent: Yeung Man Loong Maxly; 2nd Respondent: Yeung Man Fung; 3rd Respondent: Lo Wai Yin; 4th Respondent: Yeung Tung Shing; 5th Respondent (hccw49/2006): Gold Pleasure Industrial Company Limited; 5th Respondent (hccw50/2006): Topville Industrial Company Limited; 5th Respondent (hccw51/2006): Sunville Investment Company Limited; 5th Respondent (hccw52/2006): Boville Industrial Company Limited
Court
Court of First Instance
Jurisdiction
Hong Kong
Judgment Date
17 June 2009
Case Number
HCCW51/2006
Procedural Posture
Companies (winding Up) Proceedings Under S.177(1)(f) Companies Ordinance / Chamber Ruling on Costs Application and Taxation Parameters
Outcome
Application partly allowed: costs of Mr Chan disallowed; costs of Mr Lo allowed in part limited to ledger-account work; Respondents awarded partial costs of the application.
Legal Topics
Winding Up, Taxation of Costs, Professional/witness Expenses, Accounting Evidence
Source Language
en
Company Law Civil Procedure Costs Law Evidence Winding Up Taxation of Costs Professional/witness Expenses Accounting Evidence

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Parties

Beatrice Tsang Sau Hing

1st Petitioner

Luana Tsang Sau Kuen

2nd Petitioner

Yeung Man Loong Maxly

1st Respondent

Yeung Man Fung

2nd Respondent

Lo Wai Yin

3rd Respondent

Yeung Tung Shing

4th Respondent

Gold Pleasure Industrial Company Limited

5th Respondent (hccw49/2006)

Topville Industrial Company Limited

5th Respondent (hccw50/2006)

Sunville Investment Company Limited

5th Respondent (hccw51/2006)

Boville Industrial Company Limited

5th Respondent (hccw52/2006)

Procedural Posture

Companies (winding Up) Proceedings Under S.177(1)(f) Companies Ordinance / Chamber Ruling on Costs Application and Taxation Parameters

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether costs of employing professionally qualified non-expert witnesses are recoverable on taxation
  2. 2 Whether costs were reasonably and properly incurred given an important witness was unable to give evidence
  3. 3 Scope and quantum of recoverable costs where professional assistance partly assisted the litigation

Ratio Decidendi

Costs of Mr Chan were disallowed because his evidence was of little assistance and overlapped with another professional; costs of Mr Lo are recoverable on taxation but only to the extent they relate to his assistance with the ledger accounts (joint account, K Kwok account and Kwok Kee account); the taxing master to assess quantum and any necessary adjustments; the Respondents awarded half their costs of this application on a party and party basis.

Court Disposition

Application partly allowed: costs of Mr Chan disallowed; costs of Mr Lo allowed in part limited to ledger-account work; Respondents awarded partial costs of the application.

Orders

  • Costs of employing Mr Dennis Chan Ming-ying are disallowed on taxation.
  • Costs of employing Mr Raymond Lo Cheung-kwong are recoverable on taxation only insofar as they relate to the ledger accounts (joint account, K Kwok account and Kwok Kee account); quantum to be assessed by the taxing master.