Latest News Case Highlights

A Modern Answer to An Age-Old Problem: A Bank’s liability for acting on an authorised signatory’s wrongful payment instructions

08 February 2023

Introduction In the landmark judgment in PT Asuransi Tugu v Citibank NA [2023] HKCFA 3, the Court of Final Appeal addressed “one of the oldest and most litigated questions in commercial law,... Click here to read more

Jury finds cause of death of suspected assailant in “lone-wolf style act of terrorism” on 1 July 2021 being one of suicide

07 December 2022

On 1 July 2021, 50-year old Leung Kin-fai first stabbed a police officer on duty under the Sogo department store with a knife, before taking his own life. He was certified dead after being arrested by the... Click here to read more

The interplay between criminal, civil and public law: the role of the Secretary for Justice in criminal contempt proceedings commenced in the midst of commercial litigation

06 December 2022

In the judgment of Chu Kong v Sun Min and Others [2022] HKCFA 24 handed down today, the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal (“CFA”) confirms that a person other than the Secretary for Justice (“SJ”)... Click here to read more

Do directors owe any duty to creditors (and when does the duty arise)? Key takeaways from recent UK Supreme Court decision in BTI 2014 LLC v Sequana SA and others [2022] UKSC 2

06 October 2022

In this Article, José-Antonio Maurellet SC (a member of DVC and an Associate Member of 3 Verulam Buildings) and Michael Lok discuss the landmark decision just handed down by the Supreme Court of... Click here to read more

New Security of Payment Provisions in Hong Kong Public Works Contracts:  Binding effect of interim account adjudication decisions on final account assessments

14 September 2022

This is the second article in the series on the contractual Security of Payment (“SOP”) scheme in Hong Kong under the Technical Circular (Works) No. 6/2021 (the “Circular”) issued... Click here to read more

Decoding Hong Kong’s Unique Construction Payments Adjudication Scheme

09 September 2022

In construction disputes, time is of the essence.  Stable and clear legal frameworks are essential for complex construction projects to be undertaken smoothly, and for any disputes that arise to be... Click here to read more

Effect of Exclusive Jurisdiction Clauses in Insolvency Proceedings: Re Guy Kwok-hung Lam [2022] HKCA 1297

09 September 2022

Where a creditor’s bankruptcy petition is presented in Hong Kong, should it be allowed to proceed if the petition debt, which the debtor disputes, arises from an agreement which contains an exclusive... Click here to read more

Exhaustion of Rights and Liability for Joint Tort - the Hazards of E-Commerce Platforms

01 August 2022

With the pandemic hitting hard, online shopping has become the new normal.  Goods and services become more “fluid” and transactions become less territorial. In a recent case of Mary Kay... Click here to read more

The Court of Appeal gives an authoritative interpretation of BMO (Cap. 344)  s.45(3) in Hung Wai Building (IO) v Sunny Elegant Ltd & Others [2022] HKCA 426; [2022] 2 HKLRD 249; [2022] 3 HKC 510

11 July 2022

Brief Facts    A was the incorporated owners of a building (the “Building”), which comprised a commercial podium with shops on the ground floor and office units... Click here to read more

In determining the COMI, “a hospital bed, or a crypt, does not count” – per Aedit Abdullah J in Re Tantleff Alan [2022] SGHC 147 (24 June 2022)

05 July 2022

In this article, Jose Maurellet SC and Michael Lok consider a recent judgment by Aedit Abdullah J of the Singapore High Court exploring issues arising out of the Model Law, including how and when the presumptive... Click here to read more