In SYL v GIF [2024] HKCFI 1324 (date of judgment: 20 May 2024), the Hong Kong Court of First Instance (“the Court”) set aside an Interim Award made by the arbitral tribunal (“Tribunal”) in an HKIAC-administered arbitration....more
Our earlier Insight “LegCo in-house lawyers request clarifications regarding the Security of Payment Bill” reported that the Legal Service Division of the LegCo wrote a letter on 19 June 2024 to the HK Government seeking to...more
On 21 June 2024, the Hong Kong LegCo Bills Committee which is considering the Construction Industry Security of Payment Bill (“Bill”) held a meeting to discuss various policy concerns of the Bill....more
In AAA, BBB, CCC v DDD (HCCT 39/2023) [2024] HKCFI 513 (date of decision: 16 February 2024), the Hong Kong Court of First Instance (“the Court”) provides much welcomed guidance on the situation where there is a group of...more
7/11/2024
/ Arbitration ,
Business Disputes ,
Commercial Arbitration ,
Commercial Contracts ,
Contract Terms ,
Dispute Resolution Clauses ,
Hong Kong ,
Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) ,
Jurisdiction ,
Loan Documentation ,
Promissory Notes
In CNG v G & G (HCCT 29/2023) [2024] HKCFI 575 (date of reasons for decision: 27 February 2024), the Hong Kong Court of First Instance (“the Court”) dismissed an application to set aside an arbitration award, reiterating...more
In W v Contractor [2024] HKCFI 1452, the Hong Kong High Court dismissed an application for leave to appeal against the interim measures granted by an arbitrator to restrain an employer from calling on a bond in relation to a...more
In May 2024, the Hong Kong Government introduced the Construction Industry Security of Payment Bill (Bill) to the Legislative Council for first reading. If the Bill is passed into law, the Bill will introduce a statutory...more
In Manulife Financial Asia Limited and Kenneth Joseph Rappold & Others [2024] HKCFI 989 (date of decision: 5 April 2024), the Hong Kong High Court refused a company’s application to enforce a 12-month non-compete clause...more
The long-anticipated Construction Industry Security of Payment Bill (“Bill”) was gazetted on 17 May 2024 and was introduced into LegCo for its first reading on 29 May 2024. The Bill aims to establish a legislative framework...more
The Hong Kong Edition of the New Engineering Contract (“NEC”) was published in July 2023 in a joint undertaking with the Development Bureau (“DEVB”) of the HKSAR Government (“Government”). ...more
In Sheffield Teaching Hospital Foundation Trust v Hadfield Healthcare Partnership Ltd and others, the Technology and Construction Court provides helpful guidance about the use of standstill agreements to pause limitation...more
More than two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, anecdotal reports are that there have been many disputes between landlords and tenants about how the pandemic might affect the tenant’s payment obligations. Tenants reportedly...more
3/9/2022
/ Abatement ,
Commercial Leases ,
Commercial Property Owners ,
Commercial Tenants ,
Contract Terms ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Frustration of a Common Purpose ,
Hong Kong ,
Landlords ,
Relief Measures ,
Rent
The most common remedy for breach of contract is the award of damages. The usual aim of the court is to place, as far as possible, the innocent party in the position it would have been in had the breaching party performed...more
On 12 October 2021, the Competition Tribunal (“Tribunal”) handed down its judgment on the merits of the first private action in Hong Kong seeking remedies against the contravening party for a contravention of a competition...more
What is the allocation of responsibility for damage and defects after the expiry of a tenancy -
The dispute in So Hon Ming Francis v Cheung Lau Shau Chun and Another ([2021] HKDC 1494, DCCJ 367/2019, 29 November 2021)...more
1/7/2022
/ Contract Disputes ,
Contract Interpretation ,
Contract Terms ,
Cost Allocation ,
Damages ,
Hong Kong ,
Landlords ,
Property Damage ,
Rental Property ,
Residential Leases ,
Residential Property Owners ,
Tenants
Where an arbitration clause provides that parties “may” submit their disputes to arbitration, does this mean that arbitration is mandatory or merely permissive? What is the effect of a proviso in an arbitration clause which...more
The UK Supreme Court recently handed down a highly anticipated judgment on the interpretation of clauses which pertain to liquidated damages and limitations on a contractor’s liability for damages. Most notably, the Supreme...more
8/17/2021
/ Breach of Contract ,
Carve Out Provisions ,
Civil Liability ,
Construction Industry ,
Construction Project ,
Contract Interpretation ,
Contract Terms ,
Contractors ,
Damage Caps ,
Fraud ,
General Contractors ,
Liquidated Damages ,
Negligence ,
UK ,
UK Supreme Court
In the recent important decision of Law Ting Pong Secondary School v Chen Wai Wah [2021] CA 873, the Hong Kong Court of Appeal adopted the modern test for penalty clauses as laid down in the UK Supreme Court decision in...more
The recent English case of Timberbrook Ltd v Grant Leisure Group Ltd [2021] EWHC 1905 (TCC) (Date of Judgement: 16 July 2021), which was heard in the Technology and Construction Court, is a good illustration of the factors...more
Many modern commercial contracts contain dispute resolution clauses which submit disputes to arbitration. It is common for parties to agree to a set of pre-conditions or escalation mechanisms which have to be complied with...more
Disputes often arise about the extent of a tenant’s obligations to reinstate the leased premises at the conclusion of the lease. Large sums of money can be involved....more
As the old saying holds, cash-flow is the life blood of the construction industry.
In 2021, Hong Kong looks set to join Singapore, Australia and other jurisdictions in implementing a Security of Payment regime to...more
It is not uncommon to start a correspondence with a “subject to contract” label. But what does this mean? What is its legal effect?...more
A dispute resolution clause specifies the process, usually by way of litigation or arbitration, through which parties wish to resolve a dispute between them. A dispute resolution clause must be drafted with essential clarity...more
The Labour Tribunal in Hong Kong has jurisdiction over a claim of money arising from the breach of a term of an employment contract. However, mixed claims founded in both contract and tort are excluded from the jurisdiction...more