Hong Kong Case Law: Decisions & Judgments

Topic

Statute‑barred claims

Legal area

Court

10 Sept 2021

ASAHI IWASAWA & ASSOCIATES MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS LTD v. SHIBAKAWA (HONG KONG) LTD

Citation

[2021] HKCFI 2668
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCA969/2014

The appeal was dismissed and leave was granted for the defendant to file and serve the amended counterclaim because (1) parts of the proposed counterclaim form an equitable set-off intimately connected to the plaintiff's claimed success fee and therefore are a defence not caught by s.35 LO, and (2) for those heads where limitation was an issue the court applied accrual principles and discretion under amendment rules, concluding it would be just to permit the amendment subject to proper formatting; independent claims for years where the cause of action accrued before 4 June 2008 would be time-…
28 Aug 2020

GREAT STRATEGY PROPERTIES LTD AND ANOTHER v. WONG WEI GEORGE AND OTHERS

Citation

[2020] HKCA 730
Court

Court of Appeal
Case number

CAMP57/2020

The Court held the judge did not err in refusing a preliminary trial because resolving whether the Former Liquidators had the requisite knowledge and whether that knowledge is attributable to the plaintiffs necessarily requires resolution of factual disputes about the acts and omissions alleged to constitute negligence; a preliminary trial would not save time or costs and the judge's case‑management decision was not plainly wrong.
20 Apr 2007

KENSLAND REALTY LTD (in compulsory liquidation) v. TAI TANG AND CHONG

Citation

KENSLAND REALTY LTD (in compulsory liquidation) v. TAI TANG AND CHONG
Court

Court of Final Appeal
Case number

FAMV18/2007

Leave to appeal was granted on the precise question whether the plaintiff's action is statute‑barred under the Limitation Ordinance, in particular the requirements for establishing when the plaintiff had knowledge of loss and its attribution to negligent acts or omissions for the purposes of section 31, including in the specific context of negligent conveyancing advice that resulted in subsequent judicial proceedings culminating in an appeal to the Court of Final Appeal; the parties are to present full argument to enable a final determination on those legal questions.
12 Oct 1999

CHAN MA CHOI AND ANOTHER v. CHAN SHEUNG KI

Citation

CHAN MA CHOI AND ANOTHER v. CHAN SHEUNG KI
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCMP789/1998

Given uninterrupted possession by the plaintiffs and their families since 1945/1949, absence of any demand or enforcement and the long lapse since the 1905 mortgage, the mortgage is incapable of subsistence or otherwise unenforceable by operation of the Limitation Ordinance Cap.347; plaintiffs are entitled to a declaration to that effect.
22 May 1998

NG NGAN CHIU v. PARAMOUNT PRINTING CO. LTD. and SHELL HK LTD. (Third Party)

Citation

NG NGAN CHIU v. PARAMOUNT PRINTING CO. LTD. and SHELL HK LTD. (Third Party)
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCPI328/1996

The court exercised its s30 discretion to disapply s27 and allowed joinder of Shell as defendant because Shell was already a third party, had been preparing a defence so would not face a stale claim, the defendant's ability to defend was not prejudiced and the plaintiff's unexplained delay did not outweigh the equities in favour of joinder.

Hong Kong Case Law

ASAHI IWASAWA & ASSOCIATES MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS LTD v. SHIBAKAWA (HONG KONG) LTD

GREAT STRATEGY PROPERTIES LTD AND ANOTHER v. WONG WEI GEORGE AND OTHERS

KENSLAND REALTY LTD (in compulsory liquidation) v. TAI TANG AND CHONG

CHAN MA CHOI AND ANOTHER v. CHAN SHEUNG KI

NG NGAN CHIU v. PARAMOUNT PRINTING CO. LTD. and SHELL HK LTD. (Third Party)