Read the full judgment text of HCMP 253A/2015; HCMP 253/2015 on BabelCite. This Court of First Instance judgment was delivered on 13 March 2017 before Deputy High Court Judge Yip SC (Anita Yip SC).
Civil procedure – Rules of the High Court (Cap 4A) – Order 15, rules 3(1), 5(1) and 5(2) – joinder of additional defendants to counterclaim – construction of rules – whether court has power to strike out under rule 5(1) – whether rules 5(1) and 5(2) mutually exclusive – relationship between joinder under rule 3(1) and discretion under rule 5(2) – procedural convenience – burden of justifying joinder on party seeking it – counterclaim pleaded on contingent basis – whether Government estopped from denying plaintiff's title to Purple Area obtained by adverse possession against lessee – Lot 951 in DD 381 – New Grant 1957 to Madam Tseung – subdivision into Sections A to P and Remaining Portion – Purple Area within boundary of Lot – Government alleges boundary realignment by correspondence in 1958 – Government Leases Ordinance (Cap 40) s.4 – each section deemed subject to separate government lease – Saccharin Corp. v Wild – Ernst & Young (a firm) v Butte Mining Plc (No 2) – Boocock v Hilton International Co – Fairweather v St Marylebone Property Co Ltd – Wong Yiu v Leung Sum and Leung Sui Ying – appeal dismissed with costs to plaintiff, certificate for two counsel – no order on amendment summons – consolidation summons adjourned sine die with liberty to restore.
Legal issues: Construction of Order 15, rules 3(1), 5(1) and 5(2) of the Rules of the High Court · Exercise of discretion on whether to strike out joinder and counterclaim · Whether the Government is estopped from denying the plaintiff's title to the Purple Area
Outcome: Government's appeal against Master M Wong's decision dated 3 May 2016 is dismissed.
Cites 3 cases