Hong Kong Case Law: Decisions & Judgments | LexChat

Topic

Substituted service/advertisement

Legal area

Court

25 Mar 2010

RE LIGHT TIME INVESTMENTS LTD

Citation

RE LIGHT TIME INVESTMENTS LTD
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCMP345/2010

The one-stage approach is rejected: s12A(2) creates a discretion that only arises after payment into court and the court has no jurisdiction to declare land free from encumbrance before payment. The court therefore ordered payment into court under s12A(1), required public advertisement to notify potential mortgagees, and permitted a paper application under s12A(2) for the declaration after specified publicity and waiting periods; no costs ordered.
25 Mar 2010

RE LIGHT TIME INVESTMENTS LTD

Citation

RE LIGHT TIME INVESTMENTS LTD
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCMP342/2010

The one-stage procedure is impermissible because s12A(2)'s discretionary power to declare land free of encumbrance only arises upon payment into court; the court cannot lawfully make a declaration before payment, and adequate searches and notice (including advertisement/substituted service where mortgagees cannot be found) are required to prevent injustice, therefore the correct procedure is payment into court under s12A(1), followed by advertisement and then application under s12A(2).