28 Apr 1988
The Court dismissed the appeal and upheld the Master's assessment: the Master was entitled on the evidence to find a free balance of 57.78% and the resulting award for lost years ($502,241.81) was not so excessive or unsupported as to warrant interference.
7 Nov 1986
Court held both the first defendant and the deceased were negligent but the deceased's negligence was the major cause; apportioned liability such that the plaintiff's recoverable share was reduced to 30% of agreed pecuniary items; claim for lost years was dismissed as too speculative on the evidence; judgment awarded $7,830 (30% of $20,000 loss of expectation of life and $6,100 funeral expenses).
3 Oct 1985
The Court held the Master's factual findings and methodology were supported by evidence and not legally wrong; the assessment of promotion probability and a 65% free balance was within the range of reasonable conclusions and therefore the Master's award should be upheld; appeal dismissed.
12 Jul 1985
The Court held the trial judge was entitled to treat 26 days per month as the working average because the appellant had effectively conceded that figure in submissions, and in the absence of any reliable evidence of personal expenses beyond rent the judge was justified in treating the notional 10% savings as the sole evidence of the 'free balance'; the court must not speculate or substitute its own estimation where evidence is lacking. The appeal was dismissed.
20 Mar 1985
Liability was admitted. There was insufficient evidence to establish that the deceased contributed financially to relatives in China; therefore no FAO award was made. For LARCO damages the court applied the Yeung Wing methodology: adopted 26 working days/month, multiplier 15, pre-trial rate HK$150/day (49 months) and post-trial rate HK$170/day (131 months), assumed 10% savings (free balance) given historical savings, awarded HK$20,000 for loss of expectation of life and total LARCO damages of HK$97,012, deducted HK$30,000 previously paid under Employees' Compensation Ordinance, leaving a net…
23 Aug 1984
The court found the 1st Defendant negligent in turning across the cycle track and that negligence caused the death; no contributory negligence by the deceased was proved; the 2nd Defendant employer is liable and judgment is entered against it; for a 15‑year‑old female the appropriate multiplier for lost years is 16 (same as for a male of that age) with a multiplicand of 45% of earnings; total damages for the estate rounded to $285,787 awarded.
24 Mar 1983
The Master erred in applying a joint multiplier; lost years damages must be assessed separately for each deceased's estate; pleadings for lost years claims must supply sufficient particulars when not joined with Cap.22 to enable defendant to know the case and compute payment into court; interest on estate lost years awards must be split into pre-trial (interest at half rate) and post-trial (no interest); general non-pecuniary damages should normally bear interest at the full economic rate (Pickett applied).
6 Jul 1982
On appeal the Court held the proper date for assessing lost years was the date of trial and adjusted the deceased's probable earnings accordingly; it found the pleaded living expense figure required a $1,500 monthly deduction, confirmed the multiplier of 7 and the lost years award of $210,000 (full liability); it held mourners' dinners are not recoverable as funeral expenses but allowed reasonable Buddhist ceremonies, increasing recoverable funeral expenses and varying the trial judge's order accordingly.
28 May 1982
The court found the 1st and 2nd defendants liable in negligence because the driver was proceeding at an excessive speed which was a major cause of the accident; the 3rd defendant (Hong Kong Government) was not negligent because it had taken reasonable steps to provide a safe system of work; the deceased was 50% contributorily negligent for failing to take adequate precautions; damages for lost years were calculated under LARCO using the net income minus personal maintenance approach with an adopted multiplier, producing a gross award which was reduced by contributory negligence and adjusted f…
22 Mar 1982
Given inadequate and vague evidence the court made an evidential estimate: deceased's income assessed at $3,000/month ($2,000 salary + $1,000 jade), deducted $500/month for personal living expenses, applied a multiplier of 7 to the net annual loss to award $210,000 for lost years, awarded conventional $15,000 for loss of expectation of life, allowed $5,640 for funeral expenses (part of agreed receipts) and disallowed unsupported ceremony costs; total damages reduced by 25% for contributory negligence to $174,390; FAO claim extinguished by LARCO award; interest ordered on specified components.