Goose cooked here: Hong Kong restaurant has enough local ties to settle dispute in city, one family member tells another in court
Side for elder brother tells younger brother enough ties locally to settle dispute in city
Two brothers' legal battle over iconic Yung Kee Restaurant continued as the elder brother's side argued that the family business had strong enough local ties for a court in the city to deal with the dispute, the Court of Final Appeal heard yesterday.
Kinsen Kam Kwan-sing, who launched the original legal action in 2010 and died in October 2012, was represented by his wife Leung Sui-kwan in the case against Kinsen's younger brother Ronald Kam Kwan-lai.
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Jat argued that the company's only asset was another company in the British Virgin Islands that had many subsidiaries holding the family business including 73-year-old Yung Kee Restaurant in Central, famous locally for its roast goose, and other family assets in Hong Kong.
"The company's business has sufficient connections to Hong Kong," Jat said. "It should be treated as one economic entity."
He claimed the company's directors, shareholders and business activities were all in Hong Kong.
Jat added that a court in Hong Kong could exercise its jurisdiction over the company's matters even if it was not registered here.
Although the company could apply for the winding up order in the British Virgin Islands, Jat claimed an order issued there would not be "universally recognised" here and the matter would come back to Hong Kong again.
Barrister John Bleach SC, for Ronald Kam, countered that if Leung sought to apply for a winding up order, it should be dealt with in the British Virgin Islands.
Bleach added that Ronald Kam had wanted the restaurant to continue its operations as a family business ever since the case started.
The court was previously told Kinsen Kam had asked the court to wind up Yung Kee Holdings Limited in 2010 as he claimed he was excluded from the company's management and the company failed to declare dividends to its shareholders.
Kinsen Kam asked a High Court judge to order Ronald Kam to either buy up his shares or order the company to be wound up.
