QIAO YUANZHANG AND ANOTHER v. JEAN-PHILIPPE GASTON MARIE BENOSIT AND ANOTHER

QIAO YUANZHANG AND ANOTHER v. JEAN-PHILIPPE GASTON MARIE BENOSIT AND ANOTHER

The court ordered specific discovery in part because the bank account numbers and bank statements for December 2016 to August 2017 were sufficiently relevant and necessary to allow an independent audit to reconcile the 2nd Respondent's ledgers with bank records and to resolve the dispute about the accuracy of Schedule 1; redactions to exclude unrelated business entries were permitted; no order as to costs was made.

Citation
[2023] HKCFI 1437
Parties
Petitioner / 1st Defendant: JEAN-PHILIPPE GASTON MARIE BENOIST; 1st Respondent / Plaintiff / 1st Plaintiff: QIAO YUANZHANG; 2nd Respondent / 2nd Plaintiff: LANBO BROTHER LIMITED; 3rd Respondent / 3rd Defendant / 2nd Defendant: JETLAG LIMITED; 2nd Defendant: GREAT EMPIRE DEVELOPMENT COMPANY LIMITED
Court
Court of First Instance
Jurisdiction
Hong Kong
Judgment Date
19 May 2023
Case Number
HCA835/2020
Procedural Posture
Unfair Prejudice Petition (companies Ordinance Ss 724 725) and Related Civil Actions / Chambers Hearing on Discovery Summons (interim Application Decided)
Outcome
Application for specific discovery granted in part
Legal Topics
Specific Discovery, Bank Statements, Unfair Prejudice, Audit of Accounts, Redaction of Documents
Source Language
EN
Company Law Civil Procedure Evidence and Disclosure Specific Discovery Bank Statements Unfair Prejudice Audit of Accounts Redaction of Documents

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Parties

JEAN-PHILIPPE GASTON MARIE BENOIST

Petitioner / 1st Defendant

QIAO YUANZHANG

1st Respondent / Plaintiff / 1st Plaintiff

LANBO BROTHER LIMITED

2nd Respondent / 2nd Plaintiff

JETLAG LIMITED

3rd Respondent / 3rd Defendant / 2nd Defendant

GREAT EMPIRE DEVELOPMENT COMPANY LIMITED

2nd Defendant

Procedural Posture

Unfair Prejudice Petition (companies Ordinance Ss 724 725) and Related Civil Actions / Chambers Hearing on Discovery Summons (interim Application Decided)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the 2nd Respondent must specifically discover bank account numbers and bank statements for the period in dispute
  2. 2 Whether the bank statements are relevant and proportionate to allow an independent audit and reconciliation of ledgers and allocations
  3. 3 Whether redactions to exclude entries unrelated to the new business are permissible

Ratio Decidendi

The court ordered specific discovery in part because the bank account numbers and bank statements for December 2016 to August 2017 were sufficiently relevant and necessary to allow an independent audit to reconcile the 2nd Respondent's ledgers with bank records and to resolve the dispute about the accuracy of Schedule 1; redactions to exclude unrelated business entries were permitted; no order as to costs was made.

Court Disposition

Application for specific discovery granted in part

Orders

  • 2nd Respondent to disclose within 42 days the bank account numbers of accounts used for the transactions reflected in the relevant ledgers for the period December 2016 to August 2017 inclusive
  • 2nd Respondent to allow inspection of, or provide copies of, the bank statements for the relevant period