KWAN WING LEUNG v. FUNG CHI LEUNG AND ANOTHER

KWAN WING LEUNG v. FUNG CHI LEUNG AND ANOTHER

Court held that on an objective assessment at the time of writ it was not obvious the claim belonged in the District Court so s44A justified awarding costs on the Court of First Instance scale for the period up to and including 12 November 2013; Order 22 rule 23 was triggered by failure to beat the sanctioned...

Source-derived case information.

Citation
KWAN WING LEUNG v. FUNG CHI LEUNG AND ANOTHER
Parties
Plaintiff: KWAN WING LEUNG; 1st Defendant: FUNG CHI LEUNG; 2nd Defendant: MENTEX ENGINEERING LIMITED
Court
District Court
Jurisdiction
Hong Kong
Judgment Date
15 September 2014
Case Number
DCPI2489/2013
Procedural Posture
Personal Injuries Action / Post Trial Costs Variation and Judgment Enforcement
Outcome
Court varied previous costs and interest orders: awarded plaintiff costs on CFI scale up to 12 November 2013; made no order as to costs after 13 November 2013; varied interest to stop accruing after 12 November 2013 on specified heads; each party to bear their own costs of the summons; plaintiff's own costs taxed...
Legal Topics
Sanctioned Payment, Order 22 Rule 23 (district Court Ordinance), Practice Direction 18.1 (mediation), Section 44 a District Court Ordinance, Scale of Costs, Transfer of Proceedings
Source Language
en
Personal Injury Civil Procedure Costs Alternative Dispute Resolution Interest Sanctioned Payment Order 22 Rule 23 (district Court Ordinance) Practice Direction 18.1 (mediation) +3 more

Source-derived case record

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 4 Authorities cited 10 Party arguments 2 Amounts and remedies 4
Sign in to unlock

Parties

KWAN WING LEUNG

Plaintiff

FUNG CHI LEUNG

1st Defendant

MENTEX ENGINEERING LIMITED

2nd Defendant

Procedural Posture

Personal Injuries Action / Post Trial Costs Variation and Judgment Enforcement

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether costs prior to transfer should be on Court of First Instance scale under section 44A of the District Court Ordinance
  2. 2 Whether Order 22 rule 23 sanctions apply where plaintiff failed to beat the defendant's sanctioned payment
  3. 3 Whether refusal to mediate by defendant triggers costs sanctions under Practice Direction 18.1 and how that interacts with Order 22 rule 23

Ratio Decidendi

Court held that on an objective assessment at the time of writ it was not obvious the claim belonged in the District Court so s44A justified awarding costs on the Court of First Instance scale for the period up to and including 12 November 2013; Order 22 rule 23 was triggered by failure to beat the sanctioned payment but, applying Practice Direction 18.1 and considering the defendant's refusal to mediate, the court declined to award the defendant costs after 13 November 2013 and varied the interest orders accordingly.

Court Disposition

Court varied previous costs and interest orders: awarded plaintiff costs on CFI scale up to 12 November 2013; made no order as to costs after 13 November 2013; varied interest to stop accruing after 12 November 2013 on specified heads; each party to bear their own costs of the summons; plaintiff's own costs taxed...

Orders

  • Defendants to pay the plaintiff jointly and severally the sum of 196247 (HKD) with interest as adjusted by this decision
  • The 1st and 2nd defendants do pay the plaintiff's costs of this action up to and including 12 November 2013 at Court of First Instance scale, to be taxed on party & party basis if not agreed