Read the full judgment text of HCA 001851/2003 on BabelCite. This High Court CFI judgment was delivered on 25 July 2003 before Deputy High Court Judge Wong Yan Lung, SC.
Civil procedure – default judgment – defence filed – misconceived application – costs – indemnity basis – whether conduct scandalous, vexatious, or oppressive – plaintiff applied for default judgment under Order 19, rule 7 after defendants filed defences to general endorsement but not to statement of claim – plaintiff conceded application was misconceived – court held that existence of a defence, even if insufficient, precludes implied admission – indemnity costs not warranted as plaintiff's conduct was not scandalous, vexatious, or oppressive – error was not deliberate – default judgment summons dismissed with costs to defendants – directions given on plaintiff's separate strike-out summons
Legal issues: Indemnity costs for misconceived default judgment application
Outcome: Plaintiff's summons for default judgment dismissed with costs to the defendants, to be taxed if not agreed. Indemnity costs not ordered.