CHOW LILY v. CHOW WAI WAI VIOLET AND ANOTHER

CHOW LILY v. CHOW WAI WAI VIOLET AND ANOTHER

The court found the interrogatories generally relevant but several were answered by existing affirmations/witness statements or were fishing/premature and therefore ordered withdrawal of all interrogatories save for those specifically about whether signatures appeared on the copy shown to the defendants (paras 1(b),(d),(g),(h)), which must be answered by affidavit within 28 days; interrogatories about the safe and other matters were withdrawn; defendants awarded 80% of the costs of the summons assessed at HKD 290,000 payable by the plaintiff within 14 days.

Citation
[2023] HKCFI 948
Parties
Plaintiff: Chow Lily; 1st Defendant: Chow Wai Wai Violet; 2nd Defendant: Chow Vi Vi
Court
Court of First Instance
Jurisdiction
Hong Kong
Judgment Date
6 March 2023
Case Number
HCAP22/2019
Procedural Posture
Probate Action / Interlocutory Summons to Withdraw Interrogatories (chambers Decision)
Outcome
Interlocutory order partially allowing withdrawal of interrogatories and requiring answers to specified interrogatories; costs awarded to defendants
Legal Topics
Interrogatories, Admissibility of Will, Possession and Whereabouts of Documents, Premature Discovery, Costs Assessment
Source Language
EN
Probate Civil Procedure Evidence Costs Interrogatories Admissibility of Will Possession and Whereabouts of Documents Premature Discovery +1 more

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Parties

Chow Lily

Plaintiff

Chow Wai Wai Violet

1st Defendant

Chow Vi Vi

2nd Defendant

Procedural Posture

Probate Action / Interlocutory Summons to Withdraw Interrogatories (chambers Decision)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether interrogatories relate to a matter in question in the probate action
  2. 2 Whether the interrogatories are necessary for the fair disposal of the action or for saving costs
  3. 3 Whether parts of the interrogatories have already been answered by affidavit/witness statements

Ratio Decidendi

The court found the interrogatories generally relevant but several were answered by existing affirmations/witness statements or were fishing/premature and therefore ordered withdrawal of all interrogatories save for those specifically about whether signatures appeared on the copy shown to the defendants (paras 1(b),(d),(g),(h)), which must be answered by affidavit within 28 days; interrogatories about the safe and other matters were withdrawn; defendants awarded 80% of the costs of the summons assessed at HKD 290,000 payable by the plaintiff within 14 days.

Court Disposition

Interlocutory order partially allowing withdrawal of interrogatories and requiring answers to specified interrogatories; costs awarded to defendants

Orders

  • Interrogatories served on Violet and Vi Vi be withdrawn without order save for paras 1(b), (d), (g) and (h) which the defendants must answer by affidavit within 28 days from the decision date
  • Interrogatories relating to the deceased's office safe are withdrawn