We are acting for a reputable entrepreneur in Mainland and successfully obtained an order from the High Court of Hong Kong to set aside a Bankruptcy Statutory Demand issued against our client by a prominent venture capital fund with costs awarded in favour of our client.

Upon being instructed by our client who had received the Bankruptcy Statutory Demand which concerned an alleged debt of almost USD13 million arising from a share sale and purchase agreement and may lead to her bankruptcy, we made urgent efforts to make an application to the Court to set aside the subject Bankruptcy Statutory Demand including preparing all necessary papers on an urgent basis as well as liaising with Senior Counsel and Counsel. Right at the first court hearing, we successfully resisted the Petitioner’s attempt to seek a Bankruptcy Order summarily, and made out a cogent case for substantive arguments. In the substantive hearing of the said application this week, we ran multiple lines of arguments and meticulously articulated to the Court that the subject Bankruptcy Statutory Demand should be set aside on three grounds, namely (1) defence of non est factum, (2) that the subject Bankruptcy Statutory Demand was not founded upon a valid liquidated debt as parties’ obligation under the agreement are dependent, and (3) that parties should resort to arbitration pursuant to the arbitration clause in the agreement. The Court agreed with the forceful submissions put forward on behalf of our client that the alleged debt relied on by the subject Bankruptcy Statutory Demand is subject to a bona fide dispute on substantial grounds, and therefore set aside the subject Bankruptcy Statutory Demand pursuant to r. 48(5)(b) of the Bankruptcy Rules (Cap 6A).

The aforesaid services are handled by our Senior Partner Mr. Peter Sit and our Litigation Partner Mr. Roy Leung, assisted by Senior Associate Ms. Theresa Law and Trainee Solicitor Ms. Shirley Yu. Lawyers of our Litigation Department are well versed in the law and procedures of insolvency proceedings, including personal bankruptcy and company winding-up matters, and are determined to assist our clients in tackling legal problems in urgent situations.