HWANG JOON SANG AND ANOTHER v. GOLDEN ELECTRONICS INC. AND OTHERS

HWANG JOON SANG AND ANOTHER v. GOLDEN ELECTRONICS INC. AND OTHERS

In an appropriate case the Court will actively approve and adopt a procedure permitting banks to comply with court-ordered disclosure by uploading electronic documents to a court-approved data room where it is fair, just, reasonable and promotes cost-effectiveness and access to justice; plaintiffs were entitled to further disclosure and the court approved the proposed data-room process while leaving discretion to individual banks to choose the method of compliance.

Citation
[2020] HKCFI 1233
Parties
1st Plaintiff: HWANG JOON SANG; 2nd Plaintiff: FUTURE CELL PLUS CO., LTD; 1st Defendant: GOLDEN ELECTRONICS INC.; 2nd Defendant: WORLDBEST GLOBAL SUPPLIER INC.; 3rd Defendant: HARMONY ELECTRONICS INC.; 4th Defendant: QUANTUM ELECTRONICS INC.; 5th Defendant: JIN MIAO INTERNATIONAL LIMITED; 6th Defendant: VIVIEN CHUNG YING-YIN; 7th Defendant: MAGIC ELECTRONICS INC.; 8th Defendant: B.C CENTURY TECHOLOGY LIMITED; 9th Defendant: CHEN NIEN FANG; 10th Defendant: CHEN YI KUEI; 11th Defendant: CHINA DYNAMIC LIMITED; 12th Defendant: CHIU WEI FEN; 13th Defendant: CHOU LIN CHIAO; 14th Defendant: GLORY DYNAMIC LIMITED; 15th Defendant: HSU WEI LUN; 16th Defendant: HU HONG BIN; 17th Defendant: IMPERIAL DRAGON LIMITED; 18th Defendant: LIN CHIH CHENG; 19th Defendant: LIU MEI TING; 20th Defendant: MAGIC CRYSTAL LIMITED; 21st Defendant: NIU HSIU CHEN; 22nd Defendant: SU CHAO MING; 23rd Defendant: SU KUANG HONG; 24th Defendant: SU PEI I; 25th Defendant: TSAI PAO TSAI; 26th Defendant: WANG CHAO CHENG; 27th Defendant: WANG HUI MIN; 28th Defendant: CHOU PEI FEN; 29th Defendant: LEE CHENG HSIEN
Court
Court of First Instance
Jurisdiction
Hong Kong
Judgment Date
18 June 2020
Case Number
HCA1529/2019
Procedural Posture
Civil Proprietary Claim and Disclosure Application / Interlocutory Disclosure Application (hearings 15 Jun 2020)
Outcome
Court granted further disclosure orders against identified banks and approved data-room compliance; granted leave to re-amend writ to join D29; granted interim injunction restraining funds held by D18 and D29; granted leave for service out of jurisdiction on defendants in Taiwan.
Legal Topics
Disclosure Orders, Data Room Service, Costs of Disclosure, Proprietary Claims, Service Out of Jurisdiction
Source Language
EN
Civil Injunctions Bankers' Books Disclosure Norwich Pharmacal Relief Procedural Law Evidence Disclosure Orders Data Room Service +3 more

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Parties

HWANG JOON SANG

1st Plaintiff

FUTURE CELL PLUS CO., LTD

2nd Plaintiff

GOLDEN ELECTRONICS INC.

1st Defendant

WORLDBEST GLOBAL SUPPLIER INC.

2nd Defendant

HARMONY ELECTRONICS INC.

3rd Defendant

QUANTUM ELECTRONICS INC.

4th Defendant

JIN MIAO INTERNATIONAL LIMITED

5th Defendant

VIVIEN CHUNG YING-YIN

6th Defendant

MAGIC ELECTRONICS INC.

7th Defendant

B.C CENTURY TECHOLOGY LIMITED

8th Defendant

CHEN NIEN FANG

9th Defendant

CHEN YI KUEI

10th Defendant

CHINA DYNAMIC LIMITED

11th Defendant

CHIU WEI FEN

12th Defendant

CHOU LIN CHIAO

13th Defendant

GLORY DYNAMIC LIMITED

14th Defendant

HSU WEI LUN

15th Defendant

HU HONG BIN

16th Defendant

IMPERIAL DRAGON LIMITED

17th Defendant

LIN CHIH CHENG

18th Defendant

LIU MEI TING

19th Defendant

MAGIC CRYSTAL LIMITED

20th Defendant

NIU HSIU CHEN

21st Defendant

SU CHAO MING

22nd Defendant

SU KUANG HONG

23rd Defendant

SU PEI I

24th Defendant

TSAI PAO TSAI

25th Defendant

WANG CHAO CHENG

26th Defendant

WANG HUI MIN

27th Defendant

CHOU PEI FEN

28th Defendant

LEE CHENG HSIEN

29th Defendant

Procedural Posture

Civil Proprietary Claim and Disclosure Application / Interlocutory Disclosure Application (hearings 15 Jun 2020)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether banks may comply with disclosure orders by uploading electronic documents to a court-approved data room
  2. 2 Whether the court should approve use of data-room based service under RHC Order 65 r 5(1)(d)
  3. 3 Whether cost and environmental considerations justify approving electronic disclosure

Ratio Decidendi

In an appropriate case the Court will actively approve and adopt a procedure permitting banks to comply with court-ordered disclosure by uploading electronic documents to a court-approved data room where it is fair, just, reasonable and promotes cost-effectiveness and access to justice; plaintiffs were entitled to further disclosure and the court approved the proposed data-room process while leaving discretion to individual banks to choose the method of compliance.

Court Disposition

Court granted further disclosure orders against identified banks and approved data-room compliance; granted leave to re-amend writ to join D29; granted interim injunction restraining funds held by D18 and D29; granted leave for service out of jurisdiction on defendants in Taiwan.

Orders

  • Granted further bankers' books/Norwich Pharmacal disclosure orders against the 12 banks identified in the Schedules to the summons
  • Permitted (and encouraged) banks to comply by uploading electronic/digital documents to a court-approved online data room with access via a court-approved letter and access code