Hong Kong Case Law: Decisions & Judgments

Topic

Personal service

Legal area

Court

2 Dec 2025

RE LIU WING TING STEPHEN trading as STEPHEN LIU AND COMPANY

Citation

[2025] HKCFI 6003
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCB4968/2024

Given the Creditor was notified of the Debtor's objection six months before the hearing and took no steps to cure defective service nor sought an adjournment at the hearing, the court concluded that the discretion to permit substituted service or to adjourn could not sensibly be said to have been clearly wrongly exercised; accordingly the conditional stay of taxation is justified only upon payment into court of HK$325,000 and the Creditor must pay the Debtor's costs of the present application (HK$79,000).
25 Aug 2021

香港特別行政區訴錦英苑 (二期) 業主立案法團

Citation

[2021] HKCFI 2405
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCMA186/2020

The court held that under the Fire Services (Elimination of Fire Hazards) Regulation reg 3 'personal' service on a corporation requires delivery to the corporation's responsible person(s) (eg senior officers or authorized representatives) and that simply placing notices into a mailbox at the registered office did not satisfy the statutory requirement of personal service; Building Management Ordinance s16 does not displace the specific service modes in the Fire Services Regulation. Accordingly the notices were not validly served and the convictions could not stand.
20 Nov 2020

SAIF PARTNERS II L.P. AND ANOTHER v. JOE ZHIXIONG ZHOU

Citation

[2020] HKCFI 2952
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCMP208/2020

Leave to appeal was granted only on the narrow issue whether Order 11 must be invoked for service of the originating summons where the alleged contemnor has already submitted to the court's jurisdiction (grounds 2 and 3 of the Jurisdiction Challenge); all other grounds were dismissed as re‑argument without merit; the application for a stay of the contempt proceedings was refused because it would cause prejudice and delay to SAIFs and impede the swift resolution of contempt and account proceedings; costs were apportioned as ordered.
4 Aug 2017

CHEN CHERYL DEANNA FORMERLY KNOWN AS CHERYL DEANNA CHEN OR CHEN MEI YIN DEANNA OR CHEN MEI YIN CHERYL v. CHEN PAK YIN STELLA

Citation

CHEN CHERYL DEANNA FORMERLY KNOWN AS CHERYL DEANNA CHEN OR CHEN MEI YIN DEANNA OR CHEN MEI YIN CHERYL v. CHEN PAK YIN STELLA
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCMP1061/2017

The application for extension of time was refused because the delay of over six weeks was substantial and inexcusable, the debtor failed to show a strongly arguable case on the merits (factual findings on service and exercise of discretion were not shown to be erroneous), and therefore extension of time could not be granted.
9 Mar 2017

RE CHEN CHERYL DEANNA

Citation

RE CHEN CHERYL DEANNA
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCB3082/2016

The court preferred the process server's credible evidence and found that the statutory demand was personally served on 18 March 2016; the petition (for HK$60,873.39) would have succeeded but for subsequent repayments which reduced the debt below the statutory threshold; accordingly petitioner entitled to costs up to and including 23 August 2016 (to be taxed if not agreed), no order as to costs for 24 August–26 September 2016, and an order nisi for costs after 26 September 2016 excluding costs relating to specified affidavits; certain affidavits were expunged and late evidence refused.
17 Feb 2016

CHINA SHANSHUI CEMENT GROUP LTD AND OTHERS v. ZHANG CAIKUI AND ANOTHER

Citation

CHINA SHANSHUI CEMENT GROUP LTD AND OTHERS v. ZHANG CAIKUI AND ANOTHER
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCA2880/2015

Given the history of the litigation, the retention by Deacons of key documents, Deacons’ ongoing conduct as solicitors for the defendants in related matters, the urgency to trigger the 21‑day compliance period for the mandatory corrective amendments and the low prejudice to absent defendants, it was just and convenient to order substituted personal and ordinary service on Deacons for both defendants until they acknowledge service.
23 Mar 2015

SHUCHI SINGH v. ANAMIKA CHHAWAL AND ANOTHER

Citation

SHUCHI SINGH v. ANAMIKA CHHAWAL AND ANOTHER
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCMP2410/2014

On the evidence the court was satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that (1) the 1st Respondent Anamika Chhawal knowingly allowed Annexures 27, 28 and 29 to remain published on her Facebook pages until they were removed after October 2014 and thereby breached both the Publication and Removal Injunctions, constituting civil contempt; (2) the 2nd Respondent Sanjay Tolani failed to take steps or use best endeavours to cause removal of Annexure 28 which appeared on his page by tagging and thus knew it remained published and breached both injunctions, constituting civil contempt; other alleged posts d…
9 Jun 2014

LA v. TWK

Citation

LA v. TWK
Court

Family Court
Case number

FCMC15040/2012

The court held the penal notice could be added to the sealed order and that service of the resealed order with penal notice on the Respondent's solicitors was sufficient to found committal proceedings under the exceptions in Order 24/26 because the Respondent had notice and suffered no prejudice; accordingly the application to set aside the leave was dismissed.
11 May 2012

DBS BANK (HONG KONG) LTD v. NG HI YIN HYDI

Citation

DBS BANK (HONG KONG) LTD v. NG HI YIN HYDI
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCB15655/2009

The petitions were dismissed because the petitioner failed to comply with r.46(2) by not taking all reasonable steps to bring the Statutory Demands to the debtors' attention: after failing to effect personal service at Hong Kong addresses the petitioner knew of related PRC guarantors and a 2009 restructuring such that simple inquiries (letters/faxes/phone calls) to PRC premises or to the liquidators could reasonably have been made and might have led to personal service; the petitioner did not establish those steps would have been futile.
11 May 2012

DBS BANK (HONG KONG) LTD v. NG YUEN KWAN

Citation

DBS BANK (HONG KONG) LTD v. NG YUEN KWAN
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCB15657/2009

The petitions were dismissed because the petitioner failed to comply with r.46(2) of the Bankruptcy Rules by not taking all reasonable steps to bring the Statutory Demands to the debtors' attention — specifically the petitioner knew of related PRC guarantors, addresses and a restructuring that made PRC contacts and the liquidators of Diorva HK obvious and reasonably accessible avenues of enquiry, and it failed to use relatively simple communications (letters, fax, telephone, email) or to inquire of liquidators; the petitioner did not discharge the burden of showing such steps would not have b…