Wong Wan Leung and Others v. Secretary for Transport

FACV000019A/2000

FACV No. 19 of 2000

IN THE COURT OF FINAL APPEAL OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

FINAL APPEAL NO. 19 OF 2000 (CIVIL)

(ON APPEAL FROM CACV NO. 289 OF 1999)

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Date of Judgment: 16 March 2001

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JUDGMENT ON COSTS

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Mr Justice Litton NPJ :

1. This is the judgment of the Court on costs.

2. By our judgment handed down on 27 February 2001 we discharged the orders of the Court of Appeal and the Lands Tribunal. At the same time we made an order nisi awarding the costs incurred in this Court and in the Court of Appeal to the appellants. The effect of our judgment is that the appellants' application for compensation in the Lands Tribunal is restored. As mentioned in our judgment, if the High Court should give judgment in the appellants' favour in Action No. A8401 of 1993, they would be at liberty to go back to the Lands Tribunal to prosecute their claim for compensation. The Tribunal would then be able to deal with all questions of costs incurred in those proceedings.

3. The appellants have, by their solicitors' letter dated 6 March 2001 (copied to the respondent) asked this Court to award to them their costs incurred in the Lands Tribunal. This, in our judgment, is best left to the Lands Tribunal to deal with when the application for compensation goes back to them. We accordingly make no further order. The order nisi for costs now becomes absolute.

Representation:

Mr Denis Chang, SC and Miss Winnie Chan (instructed by Messrs Joseph P.K. Pang & Co) for the appellants

Mr Ambrose Ho, SC (instructed by the Department of Justice) for the respondent