TONG SIN LUN v. PROSHING FIRE PROTECTION ENGINEERING LTD

DCCJ3041/2008

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

CIVIL ACTION NO. 3041 OF 2008

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ASSESSMENT OF DAMAGES

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1.  The plaintiff obtained an interlocutory judgment against the defendant in default of acknowledgment and intention to defend under Order 13. 

2.  The plaintiff’s affirmations of service indicated that the writ, the interlocutory judgment and a notice of hearing of assessment of damages had been served on the defendant’s registered address.  They have not been returned.  The defendant is absent today.

3.  The plaintiff, Mr Tong, gave evidence at the hearing.  He produced and adopted his affirmation of 11 September 2008 and his witness statement filed on 15 October 2008 and adopted them as his evidence.  He further clarified the sums he claimed against the defendant is now amended to $151,534.54.  According to Mr Tong, upon the failure of the defendant in completing the renovation work of his house he had to engage a new contractor to complete the work and rectify the wrongly executed works performed on his house. 

4.  The defendant had abandoned and stopped work on 19 November 2007.  He engaged a new contractor in December 2007, and because notice had been served by the Buildings Department informing him that he had wrongly, on the advice of the defendant, demolished a structural wall in his house, he had to engage an authorised person to start work on reinstating the wall.  In addition, he had to complete the unfinished work left by the defendant, therefore the second/new contractor was engaged to do the work.  He further spent more money on the purchase of building materials for the work and conduct certain rewiring of electrical works in the house. 

5.  I am satisfied that the plaintiff has spent the additional sums of $151,534.54 in order to rectify and complete the unfinished work left by the defendant in November 2007.  These included payments for:

work conducted by the second contractor	$100,000.00
costs of building materials	$52,534.54
electrical works	$16,000.00
reinstate the structural wall	$38,000.00
sub-total	$206,534.54
Less outstanding sum under the contract with the defendant	$55,000.00
Total	$151,534.54

6.  I therefore assess the plaintiff’s loss to be $151,534.54.  I also award interests to be payable from the date of the writ to the date of judgment at half judgment rate and thereafter at full judgment rate until full payment.  Costs to the plaintiff to be taxed if not agreed.