18 Oct 2024
Respondent's application to reduce/cease maintenance was dismissed because he failed to prove inability to pay and had concealed or delayed disclosure of substantial assets; Petitioner established a material change and prejudice from Respondent's conduct and was awarded limited additional maintenance and enforcement relief; costs awarded reflecting party conduct.
8 Sept 2021
Applying a de novo review but respecting the original undertakings, the court held rental for Villa M forms part of child maintenance in the circumstances and ordered Respondent to pay the full rental (HK$98,000 pm) until six months after C physically attends UNSW in Sydney or until she ceases full‑time tertiary education, whichever is sooner; maintenance was increased and fixed at HK$67,500 per month in total (HK$33,750 per child) backdated to 1 April 2020; that sum is to be paid as HK$20,000 per child directly to each child and HK$13,750 per child to the Petitioner for indirect/household co…
29 Apr 2020
Court accepted husband's evidence of material change (loss of employment from 2015, serious indebtedness, reduced assets and health problems) and rejected wife's evidence of needs as insufficient and inconsistent; accordingly varied spousal maintenance (HK$36,500/month for Jan–Dec 2014 and HK$10,000/month from Jan 2015), discharged the husband's undertakings and the child maintenance and holiday allowance with retrospective effect from 1 January 2011, and refused leave to enforce arrears exceeding 12 months prior to the wife's judgment summons filed 28 July 2015; costs awarded to husband.
28 May 2019
Undertakings given by the father in the 17 Jan 2014 and 3 Jul 2014 orders were not discharged by the final 23 Jul 2014 judgment, are enforceable by the Hong Kong court, the mother proved and quantified arrears, and the court properly varied the Consent Order to permit payment of quantified arrears from the HK$300,000 security held by the court.
29 Jan 2014
The husband was entitled to stop payments from September 2012 because the son had attained over 21 and no medical certification extended maintenance; the evidence showed the parties had long negotiated and the husband made substantial additional payments such that the wife had effectively acquiesced to reduced levels; given changed circumstances and lack of timely enforcement the wife's notional 8% increases were not enforceable as arrears and the maintenance order should be varied in the terms sought by the husband, with order 4 discharged from 1 September 2012 and any claimed outstanding su…
23 Sept 1999
Although the respondent was found to be in contempt for non‑payment of maintenance, the trial judge did not err in exercising his discretion to refuse committal to prison because the respondent was not contumelious, had engaged with the court process, and presently lacked means such that imprisonment would serve no purpose; the Court of Appeal upheld that exercise of discretion and dismissed the appeal.
15 Jan 1998
The Court allowed the wife's appeal and set aside Deputy Judge Carlson's order because there was insufficient evidence of a change of circumstances to justify reducing the 1991 consent periodical payment from $4,000 to $2,000; the husband's appeal against the spent committal order was dismissed as academic; costs awarded to the wife in both appeals, to be taxed under the Legal Aid Regulations.
15 Jan 1998
The Court allowed the wife's appeal and set aside Deputy Judge Carlson's reduction of the 1991 consent order because there was insufficient evidence of a change in circumstances to justify reducing the periodical payments; the husband's appeal against the spent committal order was dismissed as academic because the committal order had been spent and no live controversy remained; costs were ordered in the wife's favour in both appeals.