FAITH BRIGHT DEVELOPMENT LTD. v. NG KWOK KUEN AND ANOTHER

FAITH BRIGHT DEVELOPMENT LTD. v. NG KWOK KUEN AND ANOTHER

The Court held the Statement of Claim disclosed a reasonable cause of action: the Plaintiff, having funded the purchase and with the intermediary's agreement repudiated, could rely on a resulting trust and on proprietary tracing/constructive trust principles against the registered holders; the defendants did not discharge the burden of showing the pleading was plainly bad, so the Master's order to strike out was set aside.

Citation
FAITH BRIGHT DEVELOPMENT LTD. v. NG KWOK KUEN AND ANOTHER
Parties
Plaintiff: Faith Bright Development Limited; 1st Defendant: Ng Kwok Kuen; 2nd Defendant: Ng Kwok Cheung
Court
Court of First Instance
Jurisdiction
Hong Kong
Judgment Date
12 September 2000
Case Number
HCA9058/1999
Procedural Posture
Civil Action (appeal From Interlocutory Strike‑out) / Appeal From Master's Order Under O.18 R.19(1) of the Rules of the High Court
Outcome
Appeal allowed; Master's order striking out the Statement of Claim set aside
Legal Topics
Resulting Trust, Constructive Trust, Tracing, Knowing Receipt, Strike Out (no Reasonable Cause of Action)
Source Language
EN
Trusts and Equity Property Law Civil Procedure Resulting Trust Constructive Trust Tracing Knowing Receipt Strike Out (no Reasonable Cause of Action)

Case Brief

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Parties

Faith Bright Development Limited

Plaintiff

Ng Kwok Kuen

1st Defendant

Ng Kwok Cheung

2nd Defendant

Procedural Posture

Civil Action (appeal From Interlocutory Strike‑out) / Appeal From Master's Order Under O.18 R.19(1) of the Rules of the High Court

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the Statement of Claim discloses a reasonable cause of action
  2. 2 Whether a resulting trust can arise where purchaser funds are provided to one person but title is registered in a third party
  3. 3 Whether a proprietary claim by tracing and constructive trust can be advanced against the defendants and whether reliefs sought are appropriate

Ratio Decidendi

The Court held the Statement of Claim disclosed a reasonable cause of action: the Plaintiff, having funded the purchase and with the intermediary's agreement repudiated, could rely on a resulting trust and on proprietary tracing/constructive trust principles against the registered holders; the defendants did not discharge the burden of showing the pleading was plainly bad, so the Master's order to strike out was set aside.

Court Disposition

Appeal allowed; Master's order striking out the Statement of Claim set aside

Orders

  • Appeal allowed and Master's order set aside
  • Leave granted to Plaintiff to amend paragraph 7 of the Statement of Claim to correct misstatements of defendants' references