YEUNG PAK KWAN as administrator of the estate of LAM FAN, deceased v. CHEN DECANG

YEUNG PAK KWAN as administrator of the estate of LAM FAN, deceased v. CHEN DECANG

Court accepted plaintiff's quantifications largely as reasonable, adopted an averaging method starting in 1987 to calculate annual accumulation, found the Deceased would have accumulated further wealth to notional retirement, applied no discount for accelerated receipt because defendant's incarceration made payment before retirement unrealizable, awarded specified sums to Steven and Lily for pre‑ and post‑trial dependency and awarded loss of accumulation to the estate, allowed funeral and cinerary expenses, refused to make a bereavement award to survivors because statute prescribes entitlement and the court would not rewrite statutory priority despite public policy concerns, and ordered...

Citation
[2022] HKCFI 3605
Parties
Plaintiff (administrator/claimant Under Fatal Accidents Ordinance and Larco): Steven Yeung; Defendant: Defendant (unnamed); Deceased: Lam Fan
Court
Court of First Instance
Jurisdiction
Hong Kong
Judgment Date
7 December 2022
Case Number
HCPI994/2012
Procedural Posture
Civil Fatal Accidents and Surviving Cause of Action Under LARCO / Assessment of Damages After Interlocutory Judgment on Liability
Outcome
Judgment for plaintiff. Damages assessed and awarded to Steven, Lily and the Estate totalling HKD 35,127,845.28 plus interest; funeral and cinerary expenses allowed; bereavement claim not awarded to survivors; costs order nisi made against defendant (certificate for two counsel) to be taxed if not agreed.
Legal Topics
Loss of Dependency, Loss of Accumulation of Wealth, Bereavement, Funeral Expenses, Interest, Costs, Assessment of Damages
Source Language
EN
Torts Fatal Accidents Estate Law Damages Assessment Civil Procedure Loss of Dependency Loss of Accumulation of Wealth Bereavement +4 more

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Parties

Steven Yeung

Plaintiff (administrator/claimant Under Fatal Accidents Ordinance and Larco)

Defendant (unnamed)

Defendant

Lam Fan

Deceased

Procedural Posture

Civil Fatal Accidents and Surviving Cause of Action Under LARCO / Assessment of Damages After Interlocutory Judgment on Liability

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether dependants are entitled to quantified loss of dependency and in what amounts
  2. 2 Whether the estate is entitled to loss of accumulation of wealth under s.20(2)(b)(iii) of LARCO and how to quantify it
  3. 3 Whether bereavement damages may be received by the murderer spouse and, if not, whether children succeed to that entitlement

Ratio Decidendi

Court accepted plaintiff's quantifications largely as reasonable, adopted an averaging method starting in 1987 to calculate annual accumulation, found the Deceased would have accumulated further wealth to notional retirement, applied no discount for accelerated receipt because defendant's incarceration made payment before retirement unrealizable, awarded specified sums to Steven and Lily for pre‑ and post‑trial dependency and awarded loss of accumulation to the estate, allowed funeral and cinerary expenses, refused to make a bereavement award to survivors because statute prescribes entitlement and the court would not rewrite statutory priority despite public policy concerns, and ordered...

Court Disposition

Judgment for plaintiff. Damages assessed and awarded to Steven, Lily and the Estate totalling HKD 35,127,845.28 plus interest; funeral and cinerary expenses allowed; bereavement claim not awarded to survivors; costs order nisi made against defendant (certificate for two counsel) to be taxed if not agreed.

Orders

  • Award to Steven: pre-trial loss of dependency HKD 3,474,750.00
  • Award to Steven: post-trial loss of dependency HKD 540,512.58