ERIC EDWARD HOTUNG AND ANOTHER v. HO YUEN KI AND OTHERS

ERIC EDWARD HOTUNG AND ANOTHER v. HO YUEN KI AND OTHERS

The court granted leave to the 1st and 2nd defendants to file and serve the amended voluntary particulars in support of their laches defence, but excluded the last two sentences of paragraph 3 because the asserted deterioration in the 1st defendant's health was unsupported by medical evidence; the plaintiffs were permitted to adduce further evidence on witness availability and paragraph 2's list was treated as exhaustive absent a further application.

Citation
ERIC EDWARD HOTUNG AND ANOTHER v. HO YUEN KI AND OTHERS
Parties
1st Plaintiff: ERIC EDWARD HOTUNG; 2nd Plaintiff: LARE SARE LIMITED; 1st Defendant: HO YUEN KI; 2nd Defendant: MOON VALLEY INC; 3rd Defendant: MAK SHUN MING MICHAEL also known as MICHAEL ERIC ALEXANDER BOSMAN HOTUNG
Court
Court of First Instance
Jurisdiction
Hong Kong
Judgment Date
23 May 2016
Case Number
HCA857/2011
Procedural Posture
High Court Civil Action / Interlocutory Application for Leave to File Voluntary Particulars (pre Trial)
Outcome
Leave granted in part
Legal Topics
Laches, Voluntary Particulars, Lost or Destroyed Evidence, Unavailability of Witnesses, Fitness to Give Evidence
Source Language
EN
Equity Civil Procedure Laches Voluntary Particulars Lost or Destroyed Evidence Unavailability of Witnesses Fitness to Give Evidence

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Parties

ERIC EDWARD HOTUNG

1st Plaintiff

LARE SARE LIMITED

2nd Plaintiff

HO YUEN KI

1st Defendant

MOON VALLEY INC

2nd Defendant

MAK SHUN MING MICHAEL also known as MICHAEL ERIC ALEXANDER BOSMAN HOTUNG

3rd Defendant

Procedural Posture

High Court Civil Action / Interlocutory Application for Leave to File Voluntary Particulars (pre Trial)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether leave should be granted to file and serve voluntary particulars in support of a laches defence
  2. 2 Whether particulars alleging loss or destruction of evidence and unavailability of witnesses are relevant and admissible at this stage
  3. 3 Whether assertions about the defendant's deteriorated health can be accepted without medical evidence

Ratio Decidendi

The court granted leave to the 1st and 2nd defendants to file and serve the amended voluntary particulars in support of their laches defence, but excluded the last two sentences of paragraph 3 because the asserted deterioration in the 1st defendant's health was unsupported by medical evidence; the plaintiffs were permitted to adduce further evidence on witness availability and paragraph 2's list was treated as exhaustive absent a further application.

Court Disposition

Leave granted in part

Orders

  • 1. Leave granted to the 1st and 2nd defendants to file and serve the amended voluntary particulars before the court, save for the last two sentences of paragraph 3.
  • 2. Plaintiffs permitted to file further evidence regarding the availability of the persons named in paragraph 2(f).