PONG SEONG TERESA AND OTHERS v. CHAN NORMAN AND ANOTHER

PONG SEONG TERESA AND OTHERS v. CHAN NORMAN AND ANOTHER

Court held there is no tort of harassment under Hong Kong common law (bound by Court of Appeal authority), but on the facts found defendant Chan committed actionable assault by conduct causing plaintiffs to reasonably apprehend immediate unlawful force and defendants caused excessive noise amounting to nuisance; accordingly the court granted tailored injunctions restraining the specified conduct, dismissed the defendants' counterclaims, and ordered costs against the defendants.

Citation
PONG SEONG TERESA AND OTHERS v. CHAN NORMAN AND ANOTHER
Parties
1st Plaintiff (hca 627/2010): Pong Seong Teresa; 2nd Plaintiff (hca 627/2010): Tam Shui Chuen; 3rd Plaintiff (hca 627/2010) and Plaintiff (hca 726/2011): Tam Seen Mann Estefania; Defendant (hca 627/2010) and 1st Defendant (hca 726/2011): Chan Norman; 2nd Defendant (hca 726/2011): Wai So Lin Shirley
Court
Court of First Instance
Jurisdiction
Hong Kong
Judgment Date
13 August 2014
Case Number
HCA627/2010
Procedural Posture
Civil Tort Actions for Injunctive Relief (assault, Nuisance, Alleged Harassment) / Final Judgment (court of First Instance, 13 August 2014)
Outcome
Judgment for plaintiffs; injunctions granted; defendants' counterclaims dismissed; costs ordered against defendants (order nisi)
Legal Topics
Assault, Harassment, Nuisance, Injunctive Relief, Counterclaim, Witness Credibility, Unauthorised Building Works
Source Language
EN
Tort Civil Procedure Injunctions Neighbourhood Disputes Assault Harassment Nuisance Injunctive Relief +3 more

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Parties

Pong Seong Teresa

1st Plaintiff (hca 627/2010)

Tam Shui Chuen

2nd Plaintiff (hca 627/2010)

Tam Seen Mann Estefania

3rd Plaintiff (hca 627/2010) and Plaintiff (hca 726/2011)

Chan Norman

Defendant (hca 627/2010) and 1st Defendant (hca 726/2011)

Wai So Lin Shirley

2nd Defendant (hca 726/2011)

Procedural Posture

Civil Tort Actions for Injunctive Relief (assault, Nuisance, Alleged Harassment) / Final Judgment (court of First Instance, 13 August 2014)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether there is a tort of harassment at common law in Hong Kong
  2. 2 Whether the defendant(s) committed acts complained of and whether those acts constituted assault and/or harassment
  3. 3 Whether the noises complained of constituted actionable nuisance

Ratio Decidendi

Court held there is no tort of harassment under Hong Kong common law (bound by Court of Appeal authority), but on the facts found defendant Chan committed actionable assault by conduct causing plaintiffs to reasonably apprehend immediate unlawful force and defendants caused excessive noise amounting to nuisance; accordingly the court granted tailored injunctions restraining the specified conduct, dismissed the defendants' counterclaims, and ordered costs against the defendants.

Court Disposition

Judgment for plaintiffs; injunctions granted; defendants' counterclaims dismissed; costs ordered against defendants (order nisi)

Orders

  • Order nisi that the defendants pay the costs of HCA 627/2010 and HCA 726/2011 (including costs of defendants' counterclaims) to the plaintiffs on a party-and-party basis, to be taxed if not agreed