Highlights
Part a. For the pre-action considerations, I would ask John at least the following questions.
1) Is John currently represented by another law firm?
2) Is John aware that Peter is suing John or if Peter is being represented by another law firm? If not, that’s OK. I will investigate if needed.
3) Was there any prior legal dispute between John and Peter?
4) What happened? How did John meet Peter? Any record of advertisement? Any document to prove the existence of the 10 diamond earrings pairs (“the goods”)?
5) Does John have any idea why Peter refused to pay? Anything happened to the goods?
6) How was the deal made? Does John have any contract written, or even sealed, presumably with the help of a solicitor?
7) Did John enter into the contract on behalf of another person or entity (eg his client or company)?
8) Is John aware of whether Peter entered into the contract on behalf of another person or entity (eg his client or company)?
9) Does John have any proof of ownership of the goods?
10) Does John have any certificate of the quality of diamond, or any document on the assessed value of the goods? Any insurance?11) Does John have any proof of delivery, including any document on delivery costs, and/or any tracking record on when the goods were delivered? Confirm that the date of delivery is within 6 years if the contract was not sealed. Or confirm that the date of delivery is within 12 years if the contract was sealed.
12) Has Peter communicated with John (or any business associate of John), or vice versa, directly or through a messenger? Any records of letters, e-mails, text messages, voice message, video message, etc? If yes, what did they talk about?
13) Who else were involved in the deal? Check to make sure no one involved is a minor.
14) What else does John know about Peter? Is John aware of any history of fraud with Peter?
15) What does John want? Is John suffering from any hardship, such as inability to pay for any pending costs, as a result of the breach of contract? Is John seeking additional damage such as interest? Does John have any alternative proposal, such as instalment payment plan, if Peter refuses or is unable to pay in full?
At the appropriate stage of our meetings, I would also advise John of at least the following.
a) Introduce myself and any colleague who may follow up on the case. (Perhaps ask John how he found me.) Briefly explain my law firm’s expertise.
b) Confirm John’s basic personal information, such as full name and contact information, including telephone number, primary address and/or e-mail address. If he is working for a company that originated the deal, ask him for his company’s name and contact information.
c) Explain to John the potential litigation costs in terms of both money and time, especially if John seeks remedy on interest and files the “unliquidated” form.
d) Explain to John the risk of losing, including costs of writing letter before action even if the case does not go to trial. Advise John that he may not be able to recover the full quantum. Explain the procedure and costs to apply for an injunction that freezes Peter’s assets pending trial.
e) Explain how I will bill him, and briefly explain any tax consequence.
f) If John is not seeking additional damage, advise him that the case will likely go to the District Court because its quantum is too small for Court of First Instance (not more than HK $3 million) and too large for Small Claims Tribunal (more than $75,000). Otherwise, if John is seeking additional damage so that the total quantum exceeds HK $3 million, then suggest moving the case to the Court of First Instance.
g) However, before John considers litigation, explain to him how the Alternative Dispute Resolution works, and Mediation is an option that is always available to him, as long as Peter also agrees.
h) Confirm John’s wishes before writing the letter before action. If John needs more time, coordinate with him to formulate a plan for the next step.
i) Advice John to keep safe of all documents, especially contracts and communication records.
Part b. If Peter is living in Canada, then the proceedings have to be served out of jurisdiction per Order 11. I will ask John to make a full and frank disclosure in his affirmation of all documents that prove the existence of the deal and the delivery of the goods. I will also ask John to affirm that he did not receive the expected amount of payment from Peter. If John wishes, I will make an application to the court for a leave to freeze Peter’s assets. I will try to convince the court that Hong Kong is the most suitable forum to conduct the trial, especially if Peter is able to return from Canada to defend the action in Hong Kong. I will clarify how service of the writ will be effected in Canada.
Part c. I will suggest to John that an application be made for a judgment in default of acknowledgment of service (Form 14), because Peter fails to indicate his intention of contesting the proceedings under Order 13.
I expect this to be a regular judgment unless it is shown that some part of the relevant procedure was violated, such as personal service made an error during delivery.
D will need to make an application by summons together with an affidavit on the reasons why missed the deadline and why he thinks his defence has merits. If the court is not convinced, then the judgment in default will not be set aside, and John will have won. Otherwise, the trial is on.
This Law Assignment has been solved by our Law experts at My Uni Paper. Our Assignment Writing Experts are efficient to provide a fresh solution to this question. We are serving more than 10000+ Students in Australia, UK & US by helping them to score HD in their academics. Our Experts are well trained to follow all marking rubrics & referencing style.
Be it a used or new solution, the quality of the work submitted by our assignment experts remains unhampered. You may continue to expect the same or even better quality with the used and new assignment solution files respectively. There’s one thing to be noticed that you could choose one between the two and acquire an HD either way. You could choose a new assignment solution file to get yourself an exclusive, plagiarism (with free Turnitin file), expert quality assignment or order an old solution file that was considered worthy of the highest distinction.
© Copyright 2026 My Uni Papers – Student Hustle Made Hassle Free. All rights reserved.