Hong Kong Case Law: Decisions & Judgments

Topic

Straight (non‑negotiable) bills

Legal area

Court

13 Jul 2007

CAREWINS DEVELOPMENT (CHINA) LTD v. HECNY SHIPPING LTD

Citation

CAREWINS DEVELOPMENT (CHINA) LTD v. HECNY SHIPPING LTD
Court

Court of Appeal
Case number

CACV329/2006

Straight bills of lading issued in Set A were documents of title requiring production before delivery; defendants delivered without production and thereby breached the contracts of carriage and committed conversion; clause 2 of the bills is ambiguous and does not clearly exclude liability for the misdelivery in these circumstances; accordingly the appeals are allowed and damages awarded to plaintiff in the specified sums.
14 Jul 2000

THE OWNERS OF CARGO LATELY LADEN ON BOARD THE SHIP OR VESSEL \'BRIJ\' v. THE OWNERS AND/OR DEMISE CHARTERERS OF THE SHIP OR VESSEL \'BRIJ\'

Citation

THE OWNERS OF CARGO LATELY LADEN ON BOARD THE SHIP OR VESSEL \'BRIJ\' v. THE OWNERS AND/OR DEMISE CHARTERERS OF THE SHIP OR VESSEL \'BRIJ\'
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCAJ147/1993

The court found on the evidence that the plaintiff was not a party to the CAVN bills (WTW acted as principal), the CAVN bills were straight (non‑negotiable) bills intended for delivery to the named consignee Amaya without production of originals, and there was no reliable proof that duplicate original CAVN bills were issued by CAVN leading to misdelivery; therefore defendants were not liable in contract or in tort and the actions were dismissed.
14 Jul 2000

THE OWNERS OF CARGO LATELY LADEN ON BOARD THE SHIP OR VESSEL \'MURTER\' v. THE OWNERS AND/OR DEMISE CHARTERERS OF THE SHIP OR VESSEL \'MURTER\'

Citation

THE OWNERS OF CARGO LATELY LADEN ON BOARD THE SHIP OR VESSEL \'MURTER\' v. THE OWNERS AND/OR DEMISE CHARTERERS OF THE SHIP OR VESSEL \'MURTER\'
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCAJ148/1993

The plaintiff was not a party to the CAVN bills; the CAVN bills were straight (non-negotiable) bills obliging delivery to the named consignee without production of originals; there was no persuasive evidence that the defendants issued duplicate original CAVN bills that caused the release; therefore the defendants did not breach contractual or tortious duties and the plaintiff's claims fail.

Hong Kong Case Law

CAREWINS DEVELOPMENT (CHINA) LTD v. HECNY SHIPPING LTD

THE OWNERS OF CARGO LATELY LADEN ON BOARD THE SHIP OR VESSEL \'BRIJ\' v. THE OWNERS AND/OR DEMISE CHARTERERS OF THE SHIP OR VESSEL \'BRIJ\'

THE OWNERS OF CARGO LATELY LADEN ON BOARD THE SHIP OR VESSEL \'MURTER\' v. THE OWNERS AND/OR DEMISE CHARTERERS OF THE SHIP OR VESSEL \'MURTER\'