FUNG YUET HING v. THE INCORPORATED OWNERS OF HING WONG MANSION AND OTHERS

FUNG YUET HING v. THE INCORPORATED OWNERS OF HING WONG MANSION AND OTHERS

The Tribunal held that 'a majority of votes of the owners' under paragraph 3(3) of the Third Schedule to the BMO means more than 50% of owners present in person or by proxy; because 129 owners were present at the 2nd Meeting at least 65 affirmative votes were required but only 58 and 57 votes were recorded for the contractor appointment and renovation items respectively, the resolutions lacked the requisite majority and are invalid. Consequently the Owners Corporation and Management Committee had no actual authority to enter the Renovation Contract or call for contributions; the Request met statutory thresholds and the chairman breached his duty by not convening a meeting; the secretary...

Citation
FUNG YUET HING v. THE INCORPORATED OWNERS OF HING WONG MANSION AND OTHERS
Parties
Applicant: Fung Yuet Hing; 1st Respondent (owners Corporation): The Incorporated Owners of Hing Wong Mansion; 2nd Respondent (chairman of Management Committee): Lee Leng Kong; 3rd Respondent (secretary of Management Committee): Wong Sik Cham
Court
Lands Tribunal
Jurisdiction
Hong Kong
Judgment Date
12 October 2005
Case Number
LDBM367/2004
Procedural Posture
Building Management Application (ldbm 367/2004) / Judgment Delivered 12 October 2005
Outcome
Application allowed in part for Applicant; declarations and orders granted as set out below
Legal Topics
Validity of General Meeting Resolutions, Authority of Management Committee, Statutory Requisition to Convene Meeting, Display of Minutes Under BMO, Interpretation of Majority Voting, Proxy and Voting Form Formalities
Source Language
EN
Building Management Property Law Contract Law Administrative Procedure Validity of General Meeting Resolutions Authority of Management Committee Statutory Requisition to Convene Meeting Display of Minutes Under BMO +2 more

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Parties

Fung Yuet Hing

Applicant

The Incorporated Owners of Hing Wong Mansion

1st Respondent (owners Corporation)

Lee Leng Kong

2nd Respondent (chairman of Management Committee)

Wong Sik Cham

3rd Respondent (secretary of Management Committee)

Procedural Posture

Building Management Application (ldbm 367/2004) / Judgment Delivered 12 October 2005

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether valid resolutions were passed at the 1st and 2nd general meetings
  2. 2 Whether the Owners Corporation/Management Committee had actual authority to enter the Renovation Contract and call for contributions
  3. 3 Whether the Request to convene a meeting complied with paragraph 1(2) of the Third Schedule to the BMO

Ratio Decidendi

The Tribunal held that 'a majority of votes of the owners' under paragraph 3(3) of the Third Schedule to the BMO means more than 50% of owners present in person or by proxy; because 129 owners were present at the 2nd Meeting at least 65 affirmative votes were required but only 58 and 57 votes were recorded for the contractor appointment and renovation items respectively, the resolutions lacked the requisite majority and are invalid. Consequently the Owners Corporation and Management Committee had no actual authority to enter the Renovation Contract or call for contributions; the Request met statutory thresholds and the chairman breached his duty by not convening a meeting; the secretary...

Court Disposition

Application allowed in part for Applicant; declarations and orders granted as set out below

Orders

  • 2nd Respondent do within 14 days convene a general meeting of the 1st Respondent to discuss the matters set out in the Request
  • 3rd Respondent do within 14 days display certified copies of the minutes of the 1st and 2nd Meetings in a prominent place in the Building