RE LEGEND INTERNATIONAL RESORTS LTD

RE LEGEND INTERNATIONAL RESORTS LTD

Payments incurred in resisting the appointment of provisional liquidators were in the interests of the creditors as a whole and thus capable of validation; however, fees reasonably attributable to an unsuccessful strike-out application were not justified and should be apportioned out. Accordingly the court validated the entire first payment and 60% of the second payment, refusing validation of 40% of the second payment as attributable to the unsuccessful strike-out application.

Citation
RE LEGEND INTERNATIONAL RESORTS LTD
Parties
Petitioner: Petitioner; Company: Legend International Resorts Limited; Former Solicitors / Applicant: Messrs Richards Butler; Liquidators: Joint & Several Liquidators
Court
Court of First Instance
Jurisdiction
Hong Kong
Judgment Date
28 March 2007
Case Number
HCCW1139/2004
Procedural Posture
Companies (winding Up) / Chambery Summons for Validation Order Under S182 in Liquidation
Outcome
Validation order granted in part
Legal Topics
Validation Order, Payment of Legal Fees, Provisional Liquidators, Costs Orders, Apportionment of Fees
Source Language
EN
Company Law Insolvency Law Civil Procedure Validation Order Payment of Legal Fees Provisional Liquidators Costs Orders Apportionment of Fees

Case Brief

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 3 Authorities cited 7 Party arguments 2 Amounts and remedies 8
Sign in to unlock

Parties

Petitioner

Petitioner

Legend International Resorts Limited

Company

Messrs Richards Butler

Former Solicitors / Applicant

Joint & Several Liquidators

Liquidators

Procedural Posture

Companies (winding Up) / Chambery Summons for Validation Order Under S182 in Liquidation

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether payments made to former solicitors can be validated under section 182 of the Companies Ordinance in an insolvent winding-up
  2. 2 Whether fees incurred in opposing appointment of provisional liquidators were incurred in the interests of the creditors as a whole
  3. 3 Whether portion of fees attributable to an unsuccessful strike-out application should be excluded from validation

Ratio Decidendi

Payments incurred in resisting the appointment of provisional liquidators were in the interests of the creditors as a whole and thus capable of validation; however, fees reasonably attributable to an unsuccessful strike-out application were not justified and should be apportioned out. Accordingly the court validated the entire first payment and 60% of the second payment, refusing validation of 40% of the second payment as attributable to the unsuccessful strike-out application.

Court Disposition

Validation order granted in part

Orders

  • Validation order for the whole of the first payment of HK$503,629.48
  • Validation order for 60% of the second payment (HK$499,880.00) i.e. HK$299,928.00