CHOI GAIN CHEE AND ANOTHER v. KOWLOON DEVELOPMENT CO LTD AND OTHERS

CHOI GAIN CHEE AND ANOTHER v. KOWLOON DEVELOPMENT CO LTD AND OTHERS

The pleaded case discloses no reasonable cause of action for beneficial or proprietary interest in the land because the plaintiffs only had shareholdings and contractual arrangements which cannot confer proprietary title; the action is an abuse of process insofar as the contractual claim duplicates HCA192 and therefore must be struck out; consequentially the registration of the writ as a lis pendens is vacated; costs awarded to defendants on party and party basis (nisi).

Citation
CHOI GAIN CHEE AND ANOTHER v. KOWLOON DEVELOPMENT CO LTD AND OTHERS
Parties
1st Plaintiff: CHOI GAIN CHEE; 2nd Plaintiff: WORLD TOWER PROPERTIES LIMITED; 1st Defendant: KOWLOON DEVELOPMENT CO. LTD; 2nd Defendant: ROE INVESTMENT CO. LTD; 3rd Defendant: KING S CITY HOLDING LTD
Court
Court of First Instance
Jurisdiction
Hong Kong
Judgment Date
19 October 2005
Case Number
HCA761/2005
Procedural Posture
Civil Action (property, Trusts and Contract) / Interlocutory Strike Out Application; Judgment on Summons to Strike Out and Vacate Lis Pendens
Outcome
Action struck out in part: proprietary/beneficial interest claim dismissed for disclosing no reasonable cause; contractual claim struck out as abuse of process as duplicative of HCA192; writ registered as lis pendens vacated; costs to defendants on party and party basis (nisi).
Legal Topics
Lis Pendens, Beneficial Ownership, Proprietary Interest, Strike Out, Abuse of Process, Issue Estoppel, Specific Performance, Registration and Vacation of Writ, Resulting Trust, Agency
Source Language
EN
Property Law Trusts and Equity Contract Law Civil Procedure Lis Pendens Beneficial Ownership Proprietary Interest Strike Out +6 more

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Parties

CHOI GAIN CHEE

1st Plaintiff

WORLD TOWER PROPERTIES LIMITED

2nd Plaintiff

KOWLOON DEVELOPMENT CO. LTD

1st Defendant

ROE INVESTMENT CO. LTD

2nd Defendant

KING S CITY HOLDING LTD

3rd Defendant

Procedural Posture

Civil Action (property, Trusts and Contract) / Interlocutory Strike Out Application; Judgment on Summons to Strike Out and Vacate Lis Pendens

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the plaintiffs have a reasonable cause of action for beneficial or proprietary interest in land
  2. 2 Whether the second action is an abuse of process because the cause of action is pending in HCA192
  3. 3 Whether re‑raising the action to re‑register a lis pendens is an abuse of process

Ratio Decidendi

The pleaded case discloses no reasonable cause of action for beneficial or proprietary interest in the land because the plaintiffs only had shareholdings and contractual arrangements which cannot confer proprietary title; the action is an abuse of process insofar as the contractual claim duplicates HCA192 and therefore must be struck out; consequentially the registration of the writ as a lis pendens is vacated; costs awarded to defendants on party and party basis (nisi).

Court Disposition

Action struck out in part: proprietary/beneficial interest claim dismissed for disclosing no reasonable cause; contractual claim struck out as abuse of process as duplicative of HCA192; writ registered as lis pendens vacated; costs to defendants on party and party basis (nisi).

Orders

  • Strike out the plaintiffs' claim for beneficial or proprietary interest in the land
  • Strike out the plaintiffs' contractual claim in this action as an abuse of process because the claim is duplicative of proceedings in HCA192