Hong Kong Case Law: Decisions & Judgments

Topic

Trustees in bankruptcy

Legal area

Court

2 Nov 2020

MAT NG AND ANOTHER v. HSU SHENG HSIANG

Citation

[2020] HKCFI 2045
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCB4944/2017

Because the Property is a residential flat that cannot be sensibly partitioned, the father and bankrupt filed no evidence to establish that a sale would not be beneficial or would cause very great hardship, and the trustees identified the bankrupt's half-share as the only valuable Hong Kong asset, the court ordered sale under s6 of the Partition Ordinance to realize value for creditors and disentangle co-ownership.
30 May 2019

LEE CHICK CHOI v. WONG KA SEK and WONG KA LAM KING, the Joint and Several Trustees of the Property of LEE CHICK CHOI, a bankrupt

Citation

[2019] HKCFI 1432
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCB1128/2015

Because the Trustees issued and made available the requested No Objection Letter and the Applicant received it, the summons was rendered academic and was properly dismissed; costs were awarded to the Trustees as the successful parties.
27 Mar 2019

RE LONG PROFIT INTERNATIONAL LTD

Citation

[2019] HKCFI 1062
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCCW299/2014

The court granted the orders appointing the applicants as liquidators because appointment of the Ernst & Young trustees would give rise to a real or perceived conflict of interest between their role as trustees in bankruptcy of Woo Koo-ping and as liquidators of the companies, continuity and cost-effectiveness favoured the provisional liquidators, and there was no effective opposition to the applications.
11 Oct 2017

IP PUI LAM ARTHUR AND ANOTHER (Joint and Several Trustees in bankruptcy) v. ALAN CHUNG WAH TANG AND ANOTHER

Citation

IP PUI LAM ARTHUR AND ANOTHER (Joint and Several Trustees in bankruptcy) v. ALAN CHUNG WAH TANG AND ANOTHER
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCMP450/2016

Defendants were found to have committed civil contempt by deliberately refusing to comply with the Disclosure Order; although the contempt was purged by subsequent production, the delay and contumacious intent reduced mitigation; Trustees suffered prejudice and wasted time and costs; accordingly the appropriate sanction was monetary fines rather than imprisonment: Tang fined HK$300,000 and Wong fined HK$200,000, and defendants ordered to pay Trustees' costs on an indemnity basis.
2 Oct 2015

WONG CHOW HOI SZE ELSIE v. CROWN WINE CELLARS LTD

Citation

WONG CHOW HOI SZE ELSIE v. CROWN WINE CELLARS LTD
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCA43/2014

Leave to appeal was refused because there were substantial triable factual disputes (ownership, authority, trigger of lien, direct debit authorization, and responsibility for delay) and because the action was premised on an alleged illegal/fraudulent evasion of liability; even if a real prospect of success existed the court would in its discretion refuse leave given those circumstances and the unlikelihood that summary judgment would be reinstated.
9 May 2014

CHRISTIAN EMIL TOGGENBURGER AND OTHERS v. LUU, HUNG VIET DERRICK AND OTHERS

Citation

CHRISTIAN EMIL TOGGENBURGER AND OTHERS v. LUU, HUNG VIET DERRICK AND OTHERS
Court

Court of Appeal
Case number

CACV218/2012

Because the rights in the proceedings vested in the trustees in bankruptcy and the trustees did not consent to the proposed application and were not provided with the required indemnity, the bankrupt lacked locus to apply for leave to appeal to the Court of Final Appeal and the application could not proceed.
8 Feb 2011

JONATHAN LIM v. SHE WAI HUNG AND OTHERS

Citation

JONATHAN LIM v. SHE WAI HUNG AND OTHERS
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCA391/2010

The plaintiff failed to establish a prima facie entitlement to bring a derivative action because the trustees in bankruptcy controlled the majority of the company's shares; accordingly summary judgment could not be granted, the Order 14 summons was unsustainable, and there was no basis to vary the costs order nisi — the plaintiff must pay the defendants' costs.
17 Nov 1997

HENRIK ANDERSEN AND ANOTHER v. HUANG KUANG YUAN AND OTHERS

Citation

HENRIK ANDERSEN AND ANOTHER v. HUANG KUANG YUAN AND OTHERS
Court

Court of Appeal
Case number

CACV208/1997

The Court of Appeal held that, on the judge's provisional assessments that the plaintiffs' conduct had unreasonably prolonged the trial, that material evidence weakened the plaintiffs' cases, and given availability of creditors to fund indemnities, it was open to the trial judge to order security for costs during the trial; however the amount of $2,000,000 ordered for D5 and D9 was excessive. The appeal was allowed in part: the dismissals were set aside and the security orders were varied to $700,000 for D5 and D9 and $1,200,000 for the B & M defendants, payable within 14 days, with liberty t…