LAU TIM FAT AND OTHERS v. LI BANG YUEN AND OTHERS

LAU TIM FAT AND OTHERS v. LI BANG YUEN AND OTHERS

The applicant's appeal to be joined as a 4th defendant was dismissed because he failed to demonstrate any subsisting legal or equitable interest in the Lots: no tenancy or subtenancy agreement was produced for the relevant period, evidence was hearsay or contradictory, and the tenancy prohibited subletting and had expired; accordingly the stay granted pending appeal must be removed following dismissal of the appeal, although the default declaratory judgment may still be vulnerable to challenge by a legitimately interested party.

Citation
LAU TIM FAT AND OTHERS v. LI BANG YUEN AND OTHERS
Parties
1st Plaintiff: LAU TIM FAT; 2nd Plaintiff: LAU TIM YAU; 3rd Plaintiff: LAU TIM CHOI; 4th Plaintiff: LAU MAN KIT; 5th Plaintiff: LAU TAK HUNG; 6th Plaintiff: LAU HON KEUNG; 7th Plaintiff: LAU WING MAN; 8th Plaintiff: LAU WING CHUNG, PAUL; 9th Plaintiff: LAU SHU WAN; 10th Plaintiff: LAU SHUE TAN; 11th Plaintiff: LAU FUK PING; 12th Plaintiff: LAU FUK SHEUNG, MONDY; 13th Plaintiff: LAU FUK SANG; 14th Plaintiff: LAU FUK HONG; 1st Defendant: LI BANG YUEN; 2nd Defendant: LI BANG YU; 3rd Defendant: LAM KWOK WAI; Applicant/applicant to Be Joined as 4th Defendant: CHU PAK HEI
Court
Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction
Hong Kong
Judgment Date
6 March 2007
Case Number
CACV422/2006
Procedural Posture
Civil Appeal (possession/property) / Appeal to Court of Appeal From HCMP No.1117/2004; Hearing and Judgment (appeal Disposed)
Outcome
CACV 335/2006 dismissed; CACV 422/2006 not allowed; stay pending CACV 335/2006 removed; order nisi for costs in favour of the plaintiffs.
Legal Topics
Default Judgment, Joinder, Stay of Execution, Declaratory Relief, Subtenancy, Illegal Contract, Beneficial Ownership
Source Language
EN
Property Law Civil Procedure Landlord and Tenant Law Trusts and Equitable Interests Default Judgment Joinder Stay of Execution Declaratory Relief +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 3 Authorities cited 1 Party arguments 2 Amounts and remedies 2
Sign in to unlock

Parties

LAU TIM FAT

1st Plaintiff

LAU TIM YAU

2nd Plaintiff

LAU TIM CHOI

3rd Plaintiff

LAU MAN KIT

4th Plaintiff

LAU TAK HUNG

5th Plaintiff

LAU HON KEUNG

6th Plaintiff

LAU WING MAN

7th Plaintiff

LAU WING CHUNG, PAUL

8th Plaintiff

LAU SHU WAN

9th Plaintiff

LAU SHUE TAN

10th Plaintiff

LAU FUK PING

11th Plaintiff

LAU FUK SHEUNG, MONDY

12th Plaintiff

LAU FUK SANG

13th Plaintiff

LAU FUK HONG

14th Plaintiff

LI BANG YUEN

1st Defendant

LI BANG YU

2nd Defendant

LAM KWOK WAI

3rd Defendant

CHU PAK HEI

Applicant/applicant to Be Joined as 4th Defendant

Procedural Posture

Civil Appeal (possession/property) / Appeal to Court of Appeal From HCMP No.1117/2004; Hearing and Judgment (appeal Disposed)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the applicant should be joined as a 4th defendant
  2. 2 Whether the applicant holds any subsisting proprietary or tenancy interest enabling joinder or to challenge the default declaratory judgment
  3. 3 Whether the default declaratory judgment could be set aside or attacked by a third party with an interest

Ratio Decidendi

The applicant's appeal to be joined as a 4th defendant was dismissed because he failed to demonstrate any subsisting legal or equitable interest in the Lots: no tenancy or subtenancy agreement was produced for the relevant period, evidence was hearsay or contradictory, and the tenancy prohibited subletting and had expired; accordingly the stay granted pending appeal must be removed following dismissal of the appeal, although the default declaratory judgment may still be vulnerable to challenge by a legitimately interested party.

Court Disposition

CACV 335/2006 dismissed; CACV 422/2006 not allowed; stay pending CACV 335/2006 removed; order nisi for costs in favour of the plaintiffs.

Orders

  • Dismiss CACV 335/2006 (applicant's appeal to be joined as 4th defendant dismissed)
  • Refuse CACV 422/2006 (plaintiffs' appeal re stay not allowed)