KWAN CHUI KWOK YING and Another v. TAO WAI CHUN and others

KWAN CHUI KWOK YING and Another v. TAO WAI CHUN and others

Registry marriage under Marriage Ordinance held void because deceased had a living concubine and intended to keep her; nonetheless court found parties had validly contracted a Chinese customary marriage by observance of essential rites and intentions; the 1st plaintiff is lawful surviving widow; the 1st defendant was validly accepted as concubine by wife and family and her children are lawful children; the 15th defendant is lawful and natural son of deceased — Macau documentary evidence insufficient to rebut presumption of legitimacy; prior consent order and settlements did not estop raising status issues here.

Citation
KWAN CHUI KWOK YING and Another v. TAO WAI CHUN and others
Parties
1st Plaintiff: KWAN CHUI KWOK YING; 2nd Plaintiff: KWAN SAU HANG SUZANNA; 1st Defendant: TAO WAI CHUN; 2nd Defendant: KWAN SAU SAN SUSAN; 3rd Defendant: KWAN SAU FUN SYLVINE; 4th Defendant: KWAN WAI ON LAWRENCE; 5th Defendant: KWAN LAI ON WARREN; 6th Defendant: KWAN CHI ON; 7th Defendant: KWAN SAU YUNG; 8th Defendant: KWAN SAU KI; 9th Defendant: KWAN TONG ON JOHN; 10th Defendant: KWAN CHEE ON also known as JOHN KUAN YANG; 11th Defendant: KWAN YAN ON KENNETH; 12th Defendant: KWAN YEE ON (a Bankrupt); 13th Defendant: KWAN KWOK ON; 14th Defendant: KWAN SAU WO WINNIE; 15th Defendant: KWAN TIT ON DANIEL; 16th Defendant: KWAN KIN ON NORRIS
Court
Court of First Instance
Jurisdiction
Hong Kong
Judgment Date
30 December 1994
Case Number
HCMP2996/1990
Procedural Posture
Intestate Estate / Probate and Family Status Determination / Judgment After Trial (declaratory Proceedings)
Outcome
Declarations granted for plaintiffs in main action and Third Party claim dismissed
Legal Topics
Validity of Marriage, Concubinage, Intestacy Distribution, Estoppel and Res Judicata, Legitimacy of Child, Third Party/exclusion Proceedings
Source Language
EN
Family Law Succession/probate Civil Procedure Private International Law Validity of Marriage Concubinage Intestacy Distribution Estoppel and Res Judicata +2 more

Case Brief

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Parties

KWAN CHUI KWOK YING

1st Plaintiff

KWAN SAU HANG SUZANNA

2nd Plaintiff

TAO WAI CHUN

1st Defendant

KWAN SAU SAN SUSAN

2nd Defendant

KWAN SAU FUN SYLVINE

3rd Defendant

KWAN WAI ON LAWRENCE

4th Defendant

KWAN LAI ON WARREN

5th Defendant

KWAN CHI ON

6th Defendant

KWAN SAU YUNG

7th Defendant

KWAN SAU KI

8th Defendant

KWAN TONG ON JOHN

9th Defendant

KWAN CHEE ON also known as JOHN KUAN YANG

10th Defendant

KWAN YAN ON KENNETH

11th Defendant

KWAN YEE ON (a Bankrupt)

12th Defendant

KWAN KWOK ON

13th Defendant

KWAN SAU WO WINNIE

14th Defendant

KWAN TIT ON DANIEL

15th Defendant

KWAN KIN ON NORRIS

16th Defendant

Procedural Posture

Intestate Estate / Probate and Family Status Determination / Judgment After Trial (declaratory Proceedings)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the 1st plaintiff was lawful wife of deceased for intestacy purposes
  2. 2 Whether the 1st defendant was a lawful concubine of deceased and whether her children are lawful children
  3. 3 Whether the registry marriage was valid given existence of a living concubine

Ratio Decidendi

Registry marriage under Marriage Ordinance held void because deceased had a living concubine and intended to keep her; nonetheless court found parties had validly contracted a Chinese customary marriage by observance of essential rites and intentions; the 1st plaintiff is lawful surviving widow; the 1st defendant was validly accepted as concubine by wife and family and her children are lawful children; the 15th defendant is lawful and natural son of deceased — Macau documentary evidence insufficient to rebut presumption of legitimacy; prior consent order and settlements did not estop raising status issues here.

Court Disposition

Declarations granted for plaintiffs in main action and Third Party claim dismissed

Orders

  • Declaration that the 1st plaintiff was lawfully and validly married to Kwan Ming according to Chinese customary law and is his lawful surviving widow
  • Declaration that the 1st defendant was lawfully taken as concubine and that the 2nd to 5th defendants are lawful and natural children of Kwan Ming