ATLANTIC LINK LTD v. THE INCORPORATED OWNERS OF YEN YING BUILDING AND OTHERS

ATLANTIC LINK LTD v. THE INCORPORATED OWNERS OF YEN YING BUILDING AND OTHERS

Plaintiff is entitled to costs of the action on the standard basis and must pay the costs of its own summons; the summons lacked merit because defendants were entitled to choose their witnesses and there was no breach of the PTR Order; sanctioned payments and the unfiled consent summons did not render the sanctioned payments advantageous under O.22 r.24 or justify indemnity costs for defendants; although some defendants prolonged the trial, their conduct did not reach the high threshold for indemnity costs; costs are therefore awarded to plaintiff and apportioned among defendants as specified.

Citation
[2022] HKDC 1530
Parties
Plaintiff: Atlantic Link Limited; 1st Defendant: The Incorporated Owners of Yen Ying Building; 2nd Defendant: Fullwill Property Management Limited; 3rd Defendant: Tse Sik Hung David; 4th Defendant: Poon Yun Tai, Personal Representative of the Estate of Lo Ming Sun, Deceased; 5th Defendant: J-BO Company Limited; 6th Defendant: Wong Yue Ming William & Lo Lai Yi; 7th Defendant: Ho Lung Wai Stanley; 8th Defendant: Lee Fung Ying; 9th Defendant: Fast Access Limited; 10th Defendant: Koswo Limited; 11th Defendant: Bopps Investments Limited; 12th Defendant: Full Asset Limited; 13th Defendant: Lam Kit Chun Linda; 14th Defendant: Tung Wah Group of Hospitals; 15th Defendant: Wong Lan Sin
Court
District Court
Jurisdiction
Hong Kong
Judgment Date
30 December 2022
Case Number
DCCJ1306/2018
Procedural Posture
Civil Action (water Seepage) / Costs Determination (after Trial)
Outcome
Judgment obtained by plaintiff; plaintiff awarded costs of the action on standard basis; plaintiff to pay costs of its summons; no indemnity costs ordered.
Legal Topics
Costs, Indemnity Costs, Sanctioned Payments, Consent Summons, Injunctions, Expert Evidence, Apportionment
Source Language
EN
Civil Litigation Property Law Building Defects Civil Procedure Costs Costs Indemnity Costs Sanctioned Payments Consent Summons +3 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 4 Authorities cited 4 Party arguments 2 Amounts and remedies 5
Sign in to unlock

Parties

Atlantic Link Limited

Plaintiff

The Incorporated Owners of Yen Ying Building

1st Defendant

Fullwill Property Management Limited

2nd Defendant

Tse Sik Hung David

3rd Defendant

Poon Yun Tai, Personal Representative of the Estate of Lo Ming Sun, Deceased

4th Defendant

J-BO Company Limited

5th Defendant

Wong Yue Ming William & Lo Lai Yi

6th Defendant

Ho Lung Wai Stanley

7th Defendant

Lee Fung Ying

8th Defendant

Fast Access Limited

9th Defendant

Koswo Limited

10th Defendant

Bopps Investments Limited

11th Defendant

Full Asset Limited

12th Defendant

Lam Kit Chun Linda

13th Defendant

Tung Wah Group of Hospitals

14th Defendant

Wong Lan Sin

15th Defendant

Procedural Posture

Civil Action (water Seepage) / Costs Determination (after Trial)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether costs of plaintiff's summons should be in the cause or awarded against plaintiff
  2. 2 Whether Joint Expert Report could be admitted without experts' attendance and whether PTR Order was breached
  3. 3 Whether sanctioned payments and a consent summons affect entitlement to costs or attract indemnity costs under O.22 r.24

Ratio Decidendi

Plaintiff is entitled to costs of the action on the standard basis and must pay the costs of its own summons; the summons lacked merit because defendants were entitled to choose their witnesses and there was no breach of the PTR Order; sanctioned payments and the unfiled consent summons did not render the sanctioned payments advantageous under O.22 r.24 or justify indemnity costs for defendants; although some defendants prolonged the trial, their conduct did not reach the high threshold for indemnity costs; costs are therefore awarded to plaintiff and apportioned among defendants as specified.

Court Disposition

Judgment obtained by plaintiff; plaintiff awarded costs of the action on standard basis; plaintiff to pay costs of its summons; no indemnity costs ordered.

Orders

  • Plaintiff must pay costs of P's Summons to the defendants, to be taxed if not agreed with certificate for one counsel where applicable
  • Plaintiff entitled to costs of the action including costs of written costs submissions, to be taxed on the standard basis if not agreed with certificate for one counsel where applicable