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HCMP 578/2010
IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE
HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION
COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE
MISCELLANEOUS PROCEEDINGS NO. 578 OF 2010
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IN THE MATTER of Section 19 of the Land Registration Ordinance, Cap.128, Laws of Hong Kong
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and
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IN THE MATTER of a Statutory Declaration of Wong Sau Wah made on 21st January 2009 and registered in the Land Registry by Memorial No.09061202660272
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and
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IN THE MATTER of ALL THOSE pieces or parcels of ground registered in the Land Registry as LOT NOS. 162RP, 163RP, 163A, 164A, 164B, 164C, 164D, 164RP and 194CRP all in Demarcation District No.121, Yuen Long, New Territories together with the messuages, erections and buildings thereon (if any)
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BETWEEN
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TANG SUM CHAI |
1st Plaintiff |
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CHAN WAI FONG |
2nd Plaintiff |
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TANG CHIU FAT |
3rd Plaintiff |
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TANG CHEE FAI |
4th Plaintiff |
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TANG PING KWAN |
5th Plaintiff |
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TANG CHI CHUNG |
6th Plaintiff |
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TANG CHI TAK |
7th Plaintiff |
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SKYFLAGS INTERNATIONAL LIMITED |
8th Plaintiff |
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LAM HAU FA |
9th Plaintiff |
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and
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WONG SAU WAH |
Defendant |
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Before: Deputy High Court Judge L. Chan in Chambers
Date of Hearing: 20 July 2010
Date of Decision: 20 July 2010
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D E C I S I O N
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1. Section 2 of the Land Registration Ordinance provides for the types of documents that can be registered at the Land Registry. A statutory declaration of right by a third party against an owner is not registerable against an owner’s land.
2. The defendant’s attempt to register her statutory declaration is an abuse of the system of registration. If the defendant wants to merely give notice of her claim to the owner, she can do so by letter. If she wants to claim interest, she should issue a writ against the owner and then register the writ against the owner’s land.
3. The writ is a lis pendens or a pending litigation and is registerable. The owner can contest a writ in court but the not a statutory declaration.
4. It is wrong for the defendant to have attempted to register her statutory declaration for the purpose of giving notice of her claim to the plaintiffs.
5. The plaintiffs have asked her to withdraw the declaration but she refused[1]. She should therefore pay the costs of these proceedings to the plaintiffs. But this case is not serious enough for the indemnity scale to be applied.
6. I also ask the solicitors for the parties to arrange a 9.30 a.m. hearing before me for the purpose of gross assessment of the amount of costs payable by the defendant to the plaintiffs.
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(L. Chan)
Deputy High Court Judge |
Mr Kenneth Y F Wong, instructed by Messrs Rene Hout & Co., for the 1st to 9th Plaintiffs
Mr James Sherry, instructed by Messrs Raymond Chan, Kenneth Yuen & Co., for the Defendant
[1]She later withdrew the statutory declaration from the Land Registry by herself after she had declined the plaintiffs’ request to withdraw and her filing her notice of intention to defend.
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