13 Mar 2025
Applicant's out‑of‑time leave to appeal was refused because the court accepted the explanation for a 10‑day delay but concluded the proposed appeal lacked a reasonable prospect of success; accordingly costs were properly awarded to the defendants and ordered to be summarily assessed with procedural directions.
13 Jan 2025
The statutory demand was set aside because the applicant discharged the burden by adducing sufficiently precise and believable evidence demonstrating substantial disputes on the debt: credible allegations of non-receipt of loan funds and deductions, credible evidence of improper/ misleading registration of the loan instrument against the Property indicating potential collusion or sharp practice, and an arguable case that the underlying WW loan was illegal and that the IFL loan was extortionate or tainted under the Money Lenders Ordinance, such that the creditor could not properly pursue bankr…
5 Oct 2023
On summary assessment the court found the claimed costs excessive and, applying broad‑brush reasoning given the limited complexity and the defendant's familiarity with the facts, allowed a reduced total of HK$90,000 (with HK$40,000 as counsel fee and the balance for solicitors' costs and disbursements to Humphrey & Associates) and made no further costs order in respect of the present exercise.
28 Jan 2022
On summary assessment the court reduced disputed entries for duplication and excessive time, disallowed the rationale for attendance of three fee earners at hearing, reduced total counsel fees substantially despite the certificate for two counsel, and summarily assessed the total recoverable fees at HK$680,000 (with leading counsel at HK$300,000 and junior counsel at HK$120,000).
14 May 2021
The court found the total claimed costs to be proportionate and, applying a broad brush summary assessment, allowed HK$51,000 for solicitors' fees and related items (after excluding unsupported amounts and mediation share), HK$7,500 for airfares (supported by documents and sworn evidence), and HK$32,000 for allowable party time (excluding claims by Jia and Lu but allowing D1, D2 and D2's husband), rejecting the HK$300,000 claim as unrelated to costs and impermissible without a counterclaim; total recoverable costs assessed at HK$90,500, payable by the Plaintiff to the Defendants.
22 Dec 2017
Although the defendant's objections were one week late and need not be taken into account, the court considered them and reduced the time charged by the plaintiff's solicitors by 180 minutes, assessing the reasonable recoverable costs at HK$26,000 (reduced from the HK$38,000 claimed).
12 Sept 2013
Applying the narrow party and party standard the judge disallowed or reduced fees for unjustified multiple fee earners and trainees, limited recoverable time to reasonable single-earner equivalents, required translation charges to be assessed on a translator's notional fee, and allowed counsel's brief fee and agreed disbursements; the result was quantified allowances for each summons.
20 Feb 2009
The court accepted the plaintiff's evidence of a December 2001 oral retainer, the binding effect of the signed retainer letters and the March 2003 payment arrangement, found the defendant not credible, and held the defendant personally liable for the unpaid fees, awarding judgment for the claimed sum plus interest and costs.
9 Aug 2006
The Registrar applied common-fund taxation principles, held that the solicitor bore the burden to justify claimed time and rates with contemporaneous records, found most reductions justified, allowed a limited revision of Mr Karliner's hourly rate to HK$3,600 for the items found reasonable and reinstated specific hours on two bills, and dismissed the remainder of the review applications.
28 Apr 2006
The Registrar refused the solicitors' review of the charged hourly rates. He held the Law Society scale is an appropriate reference, the seven factors are to be applied in fixing a global hourly rate for each fee earner, and, on the facts, Mr Kemp's rate of HK$4,200/hr and Mr Stranger's rate of HK$2,100/hr were appropriate and would not be increased.