LEE YUET LING AND ANOTHER v. KWAN KWING KAI AND ANOTHER

LEE YUET LING AND ANOTHER v. KWAN KWING KAI AND ANOTHER

The Master accepted the parties' agreed earnings projections, assessed the deceased's personal expenses at $400 per month at death and $800 at assessment, calculated pre- and post-assessment multiplicands and applied a multiplier of 16 years to the widow and children; refused to apply a notional reduced multiplier to the parents because they remained alive at assessment; limited funeral special damages to $8,000 due to lack of receipts and partial reimbursements; applied a 50% reduction for agreed contributory negligence; deducted $60,000 workers' compensation; exercised discretion under s48(4) Supreme Court Ordinance to reduce interest on pre-assessment loss and special damages to 3%...

Citation
LEE YUET LING AND ANOTHER v. KWAN KWING KAI AND ANOTHER
Parties
1st Plaintiff: LEE YUET LING; 2nd Plaintiff: VIANINI (FAR EAST) LTD.; 1st Defendant: KWAN KWING KAI; 2nd Defendant: LI YU WA
Court
Court of First Instance
Jurisdiction
Hong Kong
Judgment Date
15 November 1985
Case Number
HCA3910/1981
Procedural Posture
Civil Fatal Accidents Ordinance Dependency Claim (assessment of Damages) / Assessment of Damages Before Acting Master in Chambers After Consent Liability Judgment
Outcome
Judgment for 1st Plaintiff against 1st and 2nd Defendants for 50% of the FAO dependency claims; Master assessed net damages and awarded a final total of HKD 236,122 after contributory negligence and deductions.
Legal Topics
Wrongful Death, Dependency Damages, Assessment of Damages, Contributory Negligence, Interest on Damages
Source Language
EN
Tort Civil Procedure Family Law (dependants) Wrongful Death Dependency Damages Assessment of Damages Contributory Negligence Interest on Damages

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Parties

LEE YUET LING

1st Plaintiff

VIANINI (FAR EAST) LTD.

2nd Plaintiff

KWAN KWING KAI

1st Defendant

LI YU WA

2nd Defendant

Procedural Posture

Civil Fatal Accidents Ordinance Dependency Claim (assessment of Damages) / Assessment of Damages Before Acting Master in Chambers After Consent Liability Judgment

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Appropriate deduction for deceased's personal expenses pre- and post-assessment
  2. 2 Appropriate multipliers and apportionment for multiple dependants including parents of deceased and parents of widow
  3. 3 Quantum of special damages for funeral expenses given lack of receipts

Ratio Decidendi

The Master accepted the parties' agreed earnings projections, assessed the deceased's personal expenses at $400 per month at death and $800 at assessment, calculated pre- and post-assessment multiplicands and applied a multiplier of 16 years to the widow and children; refused to apply a notional reduced multiplier to the parents because they remained alive at assessment; limited funeral special damages to $8,000 due to lack of receipts and partial reimbursements; applied a 50% reduction for agreed contributory negligence; deducted $60,000 workers' compensation; exercised discretion under s48(4) Supreme Court Ordinance to reduce interest on pre-assessment loss and special damages to 3%...

Court Disposition

Judgment for 1st Plaintiff against 1st and 2nd Defendants for 50% of the FAO dependency claims; Master assessed net damages and awarded a final total of HKD 236,122 after contributory negligence and deductions.

Orders

  • Assessment awards as itemized by Master (total pre-contributory damages HKD 592,244)
  • Contributory negligence applied at 50% reducing damages to HKD 296,122