Court of Appeal rules in favor of accounting firm in breach of contract claim -

The Court of Appeal has rejected a claim from a California-based businessman that a global accounting firm failed to ensure that its employees acted with reasonable skill and care when acting as trustees in bankruptcy.

A bankruptcy order was granted in 2002 over an unpaid debt of HK$30 million with the plaintiff being the most substantial unsecured creditor. The plaintiff engaged the firm, and two of its partners were appointed as joint and several trustees over the bankrupt’s estate. Over the next eight years, the firm’s partners were removed and replaced as trustees by a second and then a third set of trustees.