Read the full judgment text of HCCT000016/1999 on BabelCite. This 高等法院原訟法庭 judgment was delivered on 24 September 1999 before The Hon Mr Justice Findlay, in Chambers.
Construction contract dispute involving plaintiff WAI SHUN CONSTRUCTION COMPANY LIMITED and defendant GAMMON CONSTRUCTION LIMITED over unpaid subcontract sums. Defendant counterclaimed alleging an earlier overpayment and plaintiff's failure to pay an approved subcontractor, Shun Cheong Electrical Engineering Company. Shun Cheong separately recovered summary judgment against plaintiff and is appealing. The court applied the test for interim payment from Shanning International Ltd v George Wimpey International Ltd, requiring plaintiff to prove a high probability of judgment net of set-offs. The defendant’s cross-claims for overpayment and unpaid fees were found genuinely arguable except for the claim concerning payment to Shun Cheong, which the court held could not form a valid set-off because no contractual relationship existed between defendant and Shun Cheong, and plaintiff was responsible for passing payments to subcontractors. The defendant’s additional claim for testing fees was also found genuinely arguable once pleaded. The court granted an interim payment of $3 million to the plaintiff, rejecting the defendant’s broader set-off attempts, and ordered defendant to pay costs. This preserves the plaintiff’s right to significant recovery ahead of trial despite outstanding cross-claims.
Legal issues: Interim payment application and genuine cross-claim test · Defendant's entitlement to set off for alleged overpayment · Defendant's set off claim relating to payment to Shun Cheong Electrical Engineering Company · Defendant’s claim for unpleaded amount for testing fees and levy
Outcome: Order granted for interim payment of $3 million to the plaintiff; defendant’s cross-claims upheld only in part; defendant ordered to pay costs of this application.