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Hill Dickinson acts for the successful client in landmark judgment by Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal

Hill Dickinson acts for Guy Kwok-Hung Lam in landmark judgment by Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal

Hill Dickinson’s Hong Kong Commercial and Insolvency Disputes team acted for the successful client in Guy Kwok-Hung Lam (respondent) -v- Tor Asia Credit Master Fund LP (appellant) Final Appeal No.13 of 2022 (on appeal from CACV No. 393 of 2021 [2023] HKCFA 9). 

On 4 May 2023, the Court of Final Appeal (the highest appellate court in Hong Kong) delivered a landmark judgment with findings on, among other things, the important issue of the proper approach of the Hong Kong court to a bankruptcy petition where the parties had agreed to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of a specified foreign court for the purposes of legal proceedings arising out of or relating to their agreement. 

Agreeing with the approach adopted by the majority of the Court of Appeal, the Court of Final Appeal held that in an ordinary case where the underlying dispute of the petition debt was subject to an exclusive jurisdiction clause, the court should dismiss the petition unless there were countervailing factors, such as the risk of the debtor’s insolvency impacting third parties, the debtor’s reliance on a frivolous defence, or an occurrence of an abuse of process. Accordingly, the court unanimously dismissed the appeal.

Bryan O’Hare (partner), Pui Yip Leung (associate), Wing Lui (trainee) and Rachel Yeung (paralegal) represented the successful bankrupt debtor together with counsel team, Rachel Lam SC, Terrence Tai and Clara Wong (all from Des Voeux Chambers).

A link to the judgment here.

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