appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

A court has denied a legal petition at the heart of a family feud among the owners of Yung Kee restaurant on Wednesday.
The Court of First Instance dismissed a petition from the late Kinsen Kam Kwan-sing to have the famed roast goose restaurant wound up.
Kam’s estate must pay legal costs to his feuding brother, Ronald Kam Kwan-lai, Mr Justice Jonathan Harris ordered in his 91-page judgment.
Speaking outside court, Ronald’s son, Carrel Kam Lin-wang said: “We are satisfied with the result. The most important thing is my father can have relief now.”
He estimated the legal costs at about HK$30 million. When asked whether they would buy out his late uncle’s shares, Carrel said: “It will be purely a business decision.”
“It takes two to make the decision. The other party has to be willing to sell before we can buy. We have no concrete plan at this moment,” he said. The situation was slightly embarrassing, he said, because the court did not order either side to buy out the other side’s stake.
 
Two sons of Kinsen Kam said they were disappointed with Wednesday’s ruling and would consult their lawyers to consider an appeal.
“The ruling failed to bring justice to my father,” said the elder son of Kinsen Kam, speaking outside a Wan Chai restaurant. He added that they might also consider starting a new Yung Kee themselves, but were willing to discuss selling their 45 per cent share of the business to their uncle.
At a press conference at Yung Yee Restaurant on Wednesday afternoon, Ronald Kam Kwan-lai said it was a relief for him that the two-year lawsuit had come to an end.
He said it was disheartening to have had to settle the family issue with his brother in court. “It hurt both of us. It has been a mental torture for us both in the past three years,” Ronald Kam said.
He added that he would continue to operate Yung Kee and try to discuss with his late brother’s family purchase of their stakes.
Concluding his judgment, Judge Harris wrote: “I hope that notwithstanding my decision to dismiss the petition, the estate of the late petitioner [Kinsen] and Kwan Lai are able to find an amicable solution to the differences that caused the unfortunate breakdown in the relationship between the two brothers.”
He dismissed Kinsen Kam’s petition on a technical point, noting that Yung Kee Holding was an offshore company in the British Virgin Islands.
The judge wrote: “If I had not dismissed the petition for want of jurisdiction I would have found that the petitioner had been unfairly prejudiced by [Ronald] Kwan Lai’s conduct, and ordered the Kwan Lai purchase the petitioner’s [shares].”
Yung Kee, in Wellington Street, Central, is a Kam family business known for its roast goose and fine cuisine. The family became the talk of the town after Kinsen challenged his younger brother, Ronald Kam Kwan-lai, in court over the ownership of Yung Kee.
Kinsen petitioned the court in 2010 to have the holding company wound up unless Ronald bought his 45 per cent stake or sold Kinsen his own 55 per cent.
The case was heard in late January after mediation failed. The judgment was handed down seven months after the hearing was concluded and 27 days after Kinsen died in October.
Five family members of founder Kam Shui-fai, who died in 2004, inherited the assets and shares of the restaurant. Kinsen and Ronald each received 35 per cent of the holdings. Ronald later received another 20 per cent stake from his siblings, making him the majority shareholder.
Subsequently, Ronald’s son, Carrel Kam Lin-wang, was appointed a director and, in effect, took over the business, the court heard. Kinsen said he was stripped of his power because Ronald and his son always barred his proposals by outvoting him on the board of directors.
The company reportedly owns assets worth at least HK$1.5billion.
Yung Kee was first a modest stall selling cooked food. In 1942, Kam Shui-fai used his savings of HK$4,000 to rent a unit at Wing Lok Street and start the restaurant.
Its food earned Yung Kee a place in Fortune magazine’s top 15 restaurants in the world in 1968. Yung Kee was also awarded one Michelin star from 2009 to last year.


Petition in Yung Kee family feud dismissed in court

Famed roast goose restaurant Yung Kee in Central became the talk of the town after the Kam family took their ownership battle to court. Photo: David Wong

Row over Yung Kee restaurant takes another twist before court ruling

Kinsen Kam

Feuding Yung Kee family come together to mourn Kinsen Kam

Mourners gather at the Hong Kong Funeral Home in North Point to attend the service for Kinsen Kam. Photo: David Wong

News

Hong Kong

A court has denied a legal petition at the heart of a family feud among the owners of Yung Kee restaurant on Wednesday.


Petition in Yung Kee family feud dismissed in court

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}A court has denied a legal petition at the heart of a family feud among the owners of Yung Kee restaurant on Wednesday.

A court has denied a legal petition at the heart of a family feud among the owners of Yung Kee restaurant on Wednesday.