Read the full judgment text of HCA 001981/1999 on BabelCite. This High Court CFI judgment was delivered on 23 March 2001 before Master de Souza.
Civil law – solicitor negligence – damages assessment – mental distress – contract – tort – concurrent liability – causation – remoteness – apportionment – Civil Liability (Contribution) Ordinance – damages awarded $131,737.80 – Plaintiff sued former solicitors for gross mishandling of divorce application – Retainer given to Warne and firm Y H Lee & James To – Plaintiff wished to remarry in 1998 – Solicitors failed to prosecute suit for nearly 2 years – Solicitors provided false documents to conceal truth – Plaintiff claimed damages for mental distress, wasted expenditure, loss of housing benefit, IDD charges, travel expenses, no pay leave, spousal maintenance – Court held damages quantification in tort or contract would yield same result citing Henderson v Merrett Syndicates and Tai Hing Cotton Mill – Damages for mental distress recoverable as object of retainer was peace of mind citing Watts v Morrow and Heywood v Wellers – Damages assessed at $130,000 – Wasted expenditure of $1,737.80 awarded – Housing benefit reduction too remote citing Chitty on Contracts and Heron II – IDD charges extravagant and not foreseeable – Travel and hotel expenses failed to demonstrate causal connection – No pay leave not proven – Spousal maintenance independent obligation – Apportionment of liability under Civil Liability (Contribution) Ordinance Cap. 377 – Warne most culpable, Tsui least (2%), Lee (6%), To (8%) – Partners jointly and severally liable – Plaintiff awarded costs of assessment
Legal issues: Quantification in tort or contract · Damages for mental distress · Causation and remoteness of financial losses · Apportionment of liability among partners
Outcome: Damages assessed. Plaintiff awarded $131,737.80. Other heads of claim dismissed.
Cited by 3 cases