Hong Kong Case Law: Decisions & Judgments

Topic

Set-off/counterclaim

Legal area

Court

26 Mar 2025

有關蘇麗先的事宜

Citation

[2025] HKCA 299
Court

Court of Appeal
Case number

CACV209/2024

The appeal was dismissed because the Labour Tribunal order created a valid joint and several judgment debt that the appellant did not appeal and did not pay; the appellant failed to file any sworn affidavit or proper pleaded counterclaim demonstrating mutuality or a bona fide set-off; the matters raised related to the company not the appellant personally; and the trial judge did not misapply the law or exercise his discretion improperly.
29 May 2024

有關蘇麗先的事宜

Citation

[2024] HKCFI 1241
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCB4056/2023

Because the statutory demand based on the Labour Tribunal award was validly served and the debt of HKD 38,695.41 remained unpaid and admitted, and because the debtor produced no sworn evidence and only relied on unsworn company-related allegations incapable of operating as a personal set-off, the court had no basis to refuse the petition and therefore made the customary bankruptcy order; the request for adjournment was refused for lack of merit and delay.
21 Mar 2024

有關高景波的事宜

Citation

[2024] HKCFI 863
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCB316/2024

The debtor failed to pay the statutory demand within 21 days and is therefore deemed unable to pay under s6A(1)(a); the matters were already litigated and dismissed in the debtor's application to set aside the demand so res judicata/issue estoppel apply; the debtor did not provide the required substantial, precise and credible evidence or a genuine set-off or offer to pay; accordingly the court was satisfied to make a bankruptcy order against the debtor.
29 Oct 2021

ELEGANT MARK INVESTMENT LTD v. DAI YUMIN

Citation

[2021] HKCFI 3168
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCA212/2020

The defendant raised believable and arguable triable issues (conspiracy and misrepresentation) supported by contemporaneous documents and correspondence; those issues could give rise to set-off or rescission and are not fit for summary determination. Accordingly unconditional leave to defend was granted and summary judgment refused, with costs reserved.
14 May 2020

KALE ASSETS LTD v. RICHINA PACIFIC LTD

Citation

[2020] HKCFI 599
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCA2048/2014

Applications for summary judgment were refused because the defendant raised credible bona fide defences that are inseparable from the defence to the whole claim — in particular disputes over contractual construction of clauses governing payment, the legal effect and nature of the RMB340,138,000 remittances, and PRC foreign exchange/regulatory issues supported by expert evidence — such that the matters ought to be tried.
27 Mar 2020

容冠強對庫務署署長

Citation

[2020] HKDC 78
Court

District Court
Case number

DCCJ2653/2017

The court held the Government was a secured creditor in respect of the plaintiff's retirement benefits by virtue of the public service regulatory scheme and contractual acceptance of deduction rights; although the Government's failure to declare security in the proof of debt meant it effectively waived any security in respect of the plaintiff's salary (having taken ordinary distributions), that waiver did not extend to pension/retirement benefits which remained enforceable after bankruptcy discharge; the 2006 settlement (518 memo) was a binding agreement supported by consideration and the pla…
27 Mar 2019

PARK CHUL SOO v. SWEE KHENG BUILDING MATERIAL CO LTD

Citation

[2019] HKCA 361
Court

Court of Appeal
Case number

CACV318/2018

The applicant failed to show that (a) he had a set-off or counterclaim equal to or exceeding the SD amount and (b) there were substantial grounds to dispute the debt recorded in the audit confirmations and audited financial statements, particularly the HKD500,000 transaction; accordingly the statutory demand should not be set aside and the appeal is dismissed.
7 Sept 2018

THE INCORPORATED OWNERS OF SHUN CHI COURT 對 SKILLAND ENGINEERING SERVICES (HK) LTD

Citation

[2018] HKDC 1065
Court

District Court
Case number

DCCJ271/2018

The court granted summary judgment for the plaintiff on the dishonoured cheques because the defendant failed to establish any credible special reason or conditional basis to avoid honouring the cheques; contemporaneous meeting recordings did not establish that the cheques were conditional or merely security to be set off against the 11th interim payment certificate. The defendant's counterclaim did not constitute a lawful defence to the cheque claim and was not so vexatious or an abuse as to warrant striking it out; the plaintiff's strike-out application failed for lack of supporting affidavi…
18 Jul 2018

崔月麗對順達家居設計工程有限公司

Citation

[2018] HKDC 791
Court

District Court
Case number

DCCJ3998/2014

The court found the defendant had wrongfully ceased work and could not consistently substantiate that plaintiff prevented access; plaintiff validly terminated the contract for repudiatory breach; damages were assessed by reference to reasonable remedial costs and consequential losses, reduced by the defendant's accepted counterclaim, producing a net award of $58,864; interest and costs orders follow accordingly.
11 Dec 2017

CHINA LIFE INSURANCE (OVERSEAS) CO LTD v. LI XIAOMING

Citation

CHINA LIFE INSURANCE (OVERSEAS) CO LTD v. LI XIAOMING
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCA570/2017

The court granted summary judgment for the plaintiff on the 2011 SPA and the 2011 Side Deed because the defendant failed to establish any credible triable defence: the penalty interest point was unsupported by evidence, the counterclaim/set-off was unquantified and speculative, and the alleged oral collateral agreement was implausible and contradicted by contemporaneous documents. The claim under the 2016 Deed was refused summary judgment and ordered to trial because the timing and exercisability of the option raised unresolved legal and factual issues requiring full hearing.