Read the full judgment text of HCA 661/2018 on BabelCite. This Court of First Instance judgment was delivered on 29 June 2018 before Deputy High Court Judge Alexander Stock SC.
Civil procedure – default judgment – Order 19, rule 7 of the Rules of the High Court – email fraud – wire transfer of US$240,250 to defendant's Hong Kong bank account – plaintiff a New York-incorporated company, defendant a Hong Kong company – funds obtained by hacking of CEO's email account and remained in defendant's HSBC account – defendant did not enter appearance – whether plaintiff entitled to default judgment on pleaded case – principles applicable to O.19 r.7 applications in email fraud cases – court's decision made on pleaded facts rather than evidence – whether declaratory relief should be granted as to constructive trust – general practice against granting declarations without trial yields to paramount duty to do fullest justice – genuine need to protect proprietary as opposed to personal claim where defendant may have other creditors – whether Mareva and proprietary injunctions should be continued as aid to enforcement – judgment entered against defendant for US$240,250 with costs – declaration granted that sum remains plaintiff's property and is held on constructive trust – injunctive relief continued until payment or further order.
Legal issues: Entitlement to default judgment under O.19 r.7 for email fraud claim · Whether declaratory relief should be granted in respect of proprietary claim · Continuation of injunctive relief
Outcome: Judgment entered against the defendant in default of defence; declaration granted that the disputed sum is held on constructive trust; injunctive relief continued.
Cited by 22 cases · Cites 5 cases