ASM ASSEMBLY AUTOMATION LTD AND ANOTHER v. CHAN LO KWAN AND ANOTHER

ASM ASSEMBLY AUTOMATION LTD AND ANOTHER v. CHAN LO KWAN AND ANOTHER

An item of costs is payable as "costs of and occasioned by" the adjournment only if it would not have been incurred by the receiving party irrespective of the adjournment. Applying that test, conferences and counsel fees that would have been incurred for the original hearing are not recoverable; fresh skeleton submissions prepared for the adjourned hearing are occasioned by the adjournment and thus recoverable; post-hearing research and late materials are not recoverable.

Citation
ASM ASSEMBLY AUTOMATION LTD AND ANOTHER v. CHAN LO KWAN AND ANOTHER
Parties
1st Plaintiff: ASM ASSEMBLY AUTOMATION LTD; 2nd Plaintiff: ASM TECHNOLOGY SINGAPORE LTD; 1st Defendant: CHAN LO KWAN; 2nd Defendant: INTRA-TECH MECHATRONICS LTD
Court
Court of First Instance
Jurisdiction
Hong Kong
Judgment Date
21 March 2006
Case Number
HCA7622/1999
Procedural Posture
Copyright Infringement / Taxation Hearing
Outcome
Taxation decision: applied the "would have been incurred irrespective of the adjournment" test; disallowed certain items and allowed others accordingly.
Legal Topics
Copyright, Adjournment, Costs of and Occasioned by, Taxation of Costs, Strike Out Application
Source Language
EN
Intellectual Property Civil Procedure Costs and Taxation Copyright Adjournment Costs of and Occasioned by Taxation of Costs Strike Out Application

Case Brief

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Parties

ASM ASSEMBLY AUTOMATION LTD

1st Plaintiff

ASM TECHNOLOGY SINGAPORE LTD

2nd Plaintiff

CHAN LO KWAN

1st Defendant

INTRA-TECH MECHATRONICS LTD

2nd Defendant

Procedural Posture

Copyright Infringement / Taxation Hearing

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Proper interpretation and scope of the phrase "costs of and occasioned by"
  2. 2 Whether specific billed items would have been incurred irrespective of the adjournment and hence are recoverable
  3. 3 Whether fresh skeleton submissions and subsequent research are costs occasioned by the adjournment

Ratio Decidendi

An item of costs is payable as "costs of and occasioned by" the adjournment only if it would not have been incurred by the receiving party irrespective of the adjournment. Applying that test, conferences and counsel fees that would have been incurred for the original hearing are not recoverable; fresh skeleton submissions prepared for the adjourned hearing are occasioned by the adjournment and thus recoverable; post-hearing research and late materials are not recoverable.

Court Disposition

Taxation decision: applied the "would have been incurred irrespective of the adjournment" test; disallowed certain items and allowed others accordingly.

Orders

  • Items 5 and 6 (conference on 6 December 2004 and related counsel fees) disallowed as not occasioned by the adjournment
  • Items 45 and 46 (senior and junior counsel fees for attendance on 28 January 2005) disallowed as not occasioned by the adjournment