Hong Kong Case Law: Decisions & Judgments

Topic

Ex parte procedure

Legal area

Court

22 Feb 2024

ISLAM HAKIMUL v. TORTURE CLAIMS APPEAL BOARD / NON-REFOULEMENT CLAIMS PETITION OFFICE [Decision on Leave Application]

Citation

[2024] HKCFI 397
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCAL1415/2019

The applicant validly withdrew his application for leave and, because there was nothing outstanding in the action, the proper course was to dismiss the leave application; the court also properly exercised its discretion to permit the applicant's friend to assist communication alongside the court interpreter in this non-adversarial proceeding.
14 Apr 2023

IP CHEN MING aka CHEN MING IP v. IP CHEU KEUNG aka CHEN (or CHEU) KEUNG IP AND ANOTHER

Citation

[2023] HKCFI 996
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCMP367/2023

Madam Yau, the trustee of record, had died and no personal representative had been appointed; this falls within section 45(e) of the Trustee Ordinance, authorising the court to make a vesting order. On the evidence and given there was no one to be served, the court properly heard the matter ex parte and vested the Properties in the Applicants as tenants in common in equal shares.
14 Mar 2022

RE YAU, SUNG KEUNG late of Unit A, Ground Floor, 34A Tseng Lam Shue Village, Sai Kung, New Territories, Married Man, deceased (“the Deceased”)

Citation

[2022] HKCFI 749
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCAG13744/2019

The court found the Deceased intended specific physical parts (Block A to the Mother and Block B to the Daughter). The Rectification Order that converted those intended physical blocks into equal half-shares effectively rewrote the will rather than correcting clerical errors and therefore could not stand; the Rectification Order was set aside though procedural irregularity in failing to exhibit beneficiary comments was waived.
25 Aug 2021

RE LEE YANG, SHIU CHUEN JOYCE

Citation

[2021] HKCFI 2468
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCMP1054/2021

The court found that the statutory preconditions of section 52(1)(b)(iii) were met (the shares were held on trust and the trustee corporations had been dissolved) and, notwithstanding procedural irregularities (failure to join the BVI Attorney General and commencing ex parte without leave to serve out of jurisdiction), the court exercised its discretion under the Rules to waive those irregularities and grant a vesting order vesting the right to transfer the shares and to receive accrued dividends in the Applicant, subject to limiting the decision to the facts of the case.
22 Jun 2021

A AND ANOTHER v. COMMISSIONER OF POLICE

Citation

[2021] HKCFI 1801
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCCM425/2020

On inspection the court found items 19-22 were communications with the applicants' legal department made in that department's capacity as lawyers and satisfied the dominant purpose test, and there was no prima facie case that they were produced in furtherance of fraud or crime; those items are therefore subject to LPP and must be returned. None of the disputed items qualified as journalistic material under s82 IGCO. Part XII IGCO does not directly apply to Schedule 7 of the IR; however the court may, in exercising its Sch 7 discretion, take into account that materials sought might include JM…
15 Jan 2021

RE LAU HANG MUI as the administratrix of the estate of TANG SHUI YUNG AND ANOTHER

Citation

[2021] HKCFI 182
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCMP2217/2020

Documentary evidence established an express trust in favour of the applicants and the trustee died with no personal representative; accordingly the court exercised its discretion under section 45(e) to make a vesting order vesting the properties in the applicants as tenants-in-common in equal shares, and the vesting order effected the termination of the trust without need to remove the trustee.
19 Mar 2020

RE A

Citation

[2020] HKCFI 493
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCMP2728/2017

The court refused the applicant's ex parte application for pre‑clearance declarations. It held that the 1st/2nd declarations as framed necessarily involved declarations of non‑criminality and that civil courts should make such declarations only in very or truly exceptional circumstances after a fact‑sensitive inquiry into the totality of the facts and a balancing of competing public policies (access to justice vs. risk of corrupting public justice). Qualified civil‑only declarations would be impractical and meaningless in Hong Kong where maintenance and champerty remain crimes and torts. The…
16 Sept 2019

FANTASTIC STATE LTD v. TIEN’S ORGANIC FARM AND OTHERS

Citation

[2019] HKCA 1042
Court

Court of Appeal
Case number

CACV77/2019

Given the misuse of the ex parte procedure in the interlocutory injunction application, that the injunction costs are self-contained and there was no serious issue to be tried on the evidence before the court, the court ordered immediate taxation/assessment of the costs of the interlocutory injunction proceedings, allowed a certificate for two counsel, and directed a timetable for lodging a statement of costs and objections, deferring the choice between taxation and gross sum assessment until quantum is disclosed.
21 Jan 2019

CLASSICS INTERNATIONAL LTD v. CLARET HOUSE CO LTD

Citation

[2019] HKCFI 163
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCA1337/2018

The defendant lacked reasonable prospects of success on appeal and failed to show the appeal would be rendered nugatory if a stay were refused; the Master’s order for delivery in Germany was supportable (section 31(1) SOGO and absence of an obvious implied term for delivery in England) and the retention of title clause prevents loss of ownership until payment is honoured; procedural misuse of ex‑parte process further undermined defendant’s interlocutory relief, therefore continuation of the interim stay is refused and the appeal (2nd Notice) dismissed.
12 Sept 2018

RE WONG DUEN YUEN

Citation

[2018] HKCFI 2227
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCMP1060/2018

The Court has statutory power under section 45(e) of the Trustee Ordinance to make a vesting order where a deceased trustee has no personal representative and the facts (trust assignment to father while applicant was a minor and father's death without probate) satisfy the criteria; accordingly a vesting order in favour of the applicant is appropriate and the application may proceed ex parte.