Wheelock Marden's epic legal battle with a Danish finance company has finally entered the top court - and Hong Kong record books as one of the SAR's longest and most expensive civil trials.
The dispute has spanned two decades, been fought in three courts and incurred legal costs likely to outstrip the original damages claim of US$92 million. Two defendants have also died.
A 15-day trial at the Court of Final Appeal, which began yesterday, will bring the marathon battle to a close.
The case goes back to 1983 and 1984 - when a subsidiary of Wheelock Marden was granted loans by Aktieselskabet Dansk Skibsfinansiering (ADS).
ADS claimed Wheelock Maritime International was insolvent at the time it borrowed the money - it subsequently went into liquidation in 1985 - and was not in a position to repay the funds it had borrowed.
Its directors either knew this or should have known this, the Danish company alleged. Deceased taipan John Marden was one of the defendants.
This argument was rekindled yesterday as ADS said the court had to decide whether there was anything misleading in the way the financial health of the company was presented when the loans to the Wheelock Marden unit were made.