Parkside’s Deanna Law and Cherie Ho acted for the Defendant in Leung Pak Wo v Leung Ho Kwong (14/07/2026, HCA1460/2021) [2026] HKCFI 5121.
Shortly before trial, the Plaintiff sought to rely on previously undisclosed audio recordings of meetings relevant to the parties’ dispute over the beneficial ownership of shares. Although the Court considered the recordings important to achieving substantive justice and permitted them to be adduced, it found that their late disclosure had caused serious prejudice to the Defendant.
Deputy High Court Judge Alan Kwong accordingly vacated the trial, allowed the Defendant time to adduce evidence in response, and ordered the Plaintiff to pay the Defendant’s costs that were wasted and thrown away as a result of the vacation of trial on an indemnity basis.
The decision is a strong reminder that parties must comply conscientiously with their disclosure obligations. Where potentially important evidence is disclosed at the eleventh hour, the Court may allow the evidence in so that it can determine the dispute on the fullest evidential basis. However, the Court will also protect the opposing party from the resulting prejudice through appropriate procedural directions and robust costs consequences.
The judgment also makes clear that a late change in legal representation will ordinarily provide no excuse for a failure to disclose relevant material in time.
The full judgment can be accessed here
Read more about Deanna here
Read more about Cherie here
