On 28 March 2024, the High Court handed down its reasons for judgment in Valsalan Ivy Vimala v Castka Richard Patrick Josef & Castka Gillian Hancer [2024] HKCFI 912. Lut Chi Au and Anthony Wong obtained an order to demolish the fence in a boundary dispute of land in the New Territories.
In gist, this was a dispute about the re-establishment of land boundaries. The Plaintiff and the Defendants are neighbours. Their respective lots of land are adjacent to each other and had a common boundary. The Defendants erected a fence, part of which protruded and cut the northern corner of the Plaintiff’s lot.
There were several survey plans by different surveyors, all of which showed that there was encroachment despite to different extents. The Joint Expert Report also concluded that there was encroachment. On the other hand, the Defendants’ case was that the fence was built along the tiles which were previously laid down by a construction company. The Defendant’s Expert unilaterally prepared a Supplementary Report which sought to establish a boundary different from the Joint Expert Report by following the tiles.
At issue was whether the floor tiles of the two lots can be a feature to re-establish the common boundary and hence any encroachment. The Court found that the laying out of the tiles cannot be regarded reliable evidence that survey work was done or the work was done accurately. The Court hence found in favour of the Plaintiff.
LC and Anthony were instructed by Tsang, Chan & Woo Solicitors & Notaries. The Court’s reasons for judgment can be found here.
LC was called to the Bar in 2013. He has a civil practice and is regularly instructed in chancery and commercial cases, including land, contentious probate, administration of high value estate, trust, civil fraud litigation and personal injuries matters. View LC’s profile for more details.
Anthony was called to the Bar in 2023. Anthony is developing a broad civil and criminal practice, and accepts instructions in all areas of Chambers’ work. He is an Associate of the Hong Kong Institute of Arbitrators, and is also developing a practice in alternative dispute resolution. View Anthony’s profile for more details.
