FCMC 2441 / 2017

[2024] HKFC 217

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

MATRIMONIAL CAUSES NO. 2441 OF 2017

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J U D G M E N T

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Introduction

1. There are 3 applications before the Court for determination. All of them are discovery applications against non-party to these proceedings taken out by the Respondent wife (“W”) under Order 24 Rule 7A of the Rules of the High Court (“RHC”) and section 42 of the High Court Ordinance, Cap 4 .

2. The parties against whom discovery was sought are (i) JTC (an accounting firm) (“JTC”); (ii) Bank of Communications (HK) Ltd (“BOC ”)/Bank of Communications Co. Ltd (“BOCC”) and (iii) Overseas-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited (“OCB”).

3. The 3 Summonses (“TP Summonses”) were all filed on 18/7/2023 and had been brought forward and re-scheduled for call-over on 21/8/2023. Although the Petitioner husband (“H”) was legally represented throughout these proceedings, neither H nor his lawyers was named in any of the 3 Summonses [1] .

4. At the call-over hearing on 21/8/2023, H engaged Counsel Mr Eugene Yim who appeared and opposed the TP Summonses. It transpired that the TP Summonses and W’s supporting Affirmations were only “ served ” upon H’s lawyers on 9/8/2023 (i.e. 2 weeks before the call-over hearing) [2] .

5. For the supporting Affirmations, W filed her 9 ^th Affirmation [3] in support of the BOC and OCB Summonses (which I will refer to them collectively as “Bankers’ Summonses”) and her 10 ^th Affirmation [4] in support of the JTC Summons.

6. H filed his 14 ^th Affirmation [5] in opposition and W filed her 12 ^th Affirmation [6] in reply. No affirmation was filed by the banks or JTC or any representative of them turned up at the call-over hearing.

A brief overview

7. In around October 2014, parties separated. This is a long marriage since 1977 and 3 children was born in 1980, 1984 and 1990.

8. In March 2017, H filed the Petition for divorce and Form Es were filed and exchanged by the parties. Decree Nisi was granted in October 2018 and was made absolute 2 months later in December 2018. Given that all the children are of adulthood and self-supporting, the only outstanding matter is ancillary reliefs.

9. Financial disclosure have always been an issue which ended up with 2 rounds of discovery applications taken out by H in the past. The first discovery application was taken out by H on 22/2/2019. This came shortly after W took out her Summons under Rule 6 of the Matrimonial Causes Rules, Cap.179A