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Rmh v Gy

Judgment Cited authorities 6 Cited in Precedent Map Related
Vincent
Judgment Date30 December 2020
Neutral Citation[2020] HKFC 275
Judgement NumberFCMP38/2020
Subject MatterMiscellaneous Proceedings
CourtFamily Court (Hong Kong)
FCMP38/2020 RMH v. GY

FCMP 38/2020

[2020] HKFC 275

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

MATRIMONIAL CAUSES

NUMBER 38 OF 2020

----------------------------

IN THE MATTER OF an Application under Sections 10, 13, 23, 24 and 26 of the Guardianship of Minors Ordinance, Cap 13

AND

IN THE MATTER OF W, a minor

BETWEEN
RMH The Applicant

and
GY The Respondent

---------------------------

Coram: His Honour Judge I Wong in Chambers (Not open to Public)

Date of Hearing: 15 September 2020

Date of the Respondent’s Submissions: 22 September 2020

Date of the Applicant’s Submissions: 29 September 2020

Date of Judgment: 30 December 2020

__________________

J U D G M E N T

( Interim Maintenance and Litigation Funding

under Guardianship of Minors Ordinance, Cap 13 )

__________________

The Application

1. This judgment deals with the quantum of interim maintenance, inclusive of carer’s allowance and Litigation Funding, ought to be paid by the respondent father pending the trial of the mother’s application.

The Originating Summons

2. The present proceedings are about a 4-year old boy. He was born out of the wedlock by the parties.

3. With the leave of the court the mother was permitted to commence the present proceedings during the time when all court proceedings were adjourned generally (abbreviated as “GAP”) and the Court Registry was closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In her Originating Summons of 28 April 2020, the mother seeks various financial remedies including a lump sum order, a periodical payment order and a settlement of property(ies) order against the father for the benefit of their son whom in this judgment is referred to as “W”.

4. Leave was also granted by this court to deal with the interim relief during the GAP on 4 May 2020 as a result of which, after having heard counsel for the mother and the father, I granted the sole custody and sole care and control of W to the mother with reasonable access to the father. At the same time, I ordered the father to pay to the mother an interim-interim maintenance including carer’s allowance in the sum of $557,000 per month (including $157,000 for rent) for the benefit of W.

5. Since the tenancy agreement in respect of the mother and W’s home (“the Hong Kong Home”) was due to expire in May 2020 and that the father did not intend to have it renewed, upon the application of the mother I also made an order restraining the father from withdrawing the rental deposit in the sum of $471,000 so that the mother might make use of the money for the renewal of the tenancy.

6. By an order dated 13 August 2020, the interim-interim maintenance of $557,000 has been extended on the same terms.

Parties Background

7. I believe the following facts are not in dispute.

8. This is a cross-cultural relationship. The mother is Caucasian American, and aged 32. The father is 53 years old, a Chinese mainlander with the right to reside in Hong Kong.

9. The parties met in October 2015 when the mother was living in Shanghai and the father was in Shenzhen. The father is a very successful entrepreneur and billionaire. He is the CEO of a company listed in Shenzhen and is so wealthy that he occupies a ranking in Forbes.

10. Their relationship quickly turned to an intimate one as evidenced by the fact that the mother moved to Shenzhen, staying at an apartment rented by the father and in about January 2016 the mother found herself pregnant with W.

11. In April 2016, the mother came to Hong Kong on the strength of a visitor visa. W was born in October 2016 in Hong Kong; so he is now 4 years old. As a visitor the mother was not permitted to work in Hong Kong; she has been the primary carer of W since his birth with the assistance of 2 domestic helpers and a chauffeur. A Ranger Rover worth $2.5 million was also bought for her use.

12. In May 2016, a 3-bedroom apartment at the Mid-Level, Central at a monthly rental of $150,000 was found as the home for the mother and W while apparently the father had his own residence in Kowloon. There had been two 2-year tenancy agreements in the joint names of the father and the mother up until May 2020 when the 2nd tenancy agreement expired. At the time of its expiry the monthly rental was $168,000. This is the Hong Kong Home referred to in [5] above.

13. The mother took W to Los Angeles (“LA”), the United States, in early January 2020. She said it was meant to be for about 2 weeks and the father was informed of the planned trip. As things turned out, due to the worsening of the COVID-19 situation in Hong Kong and with W’s school and extracurricular activities being suspended indefinitely, the mother decided to extend her stay. The mother and W are currently staying at a leased vacation home in LA.

14. The mother is not a resident of Hong Kong. As of now until the end of this year, all non-Hong Kong residents coming from overseas countries and regions by plane will be denied entry to Hong Kong. She is hoping to return to Hong Kong as soon as she possibly can.

The Nature of their Relationship

15. The parties agreed they came to know each other through a dating website but the agreement ends there.

16. The father said their relationship was, put it in neutral term, a “mutually beneficial arrangement” whereby the mother was paid a “salary” and an accommodation for the intimate relationship. Before moving to Hong Kong, the price he paid for the mother to move from Shanghai to stay with him in Shenzhen was RMB 100,000 plus a leased apartment at a monthly rental of RMB 30,000. The father is adamant that it was not part of the “mutually beneficial arrangement” that the mother should fall pregnant.

17. The mother denied any “arrangement” ever existed. She claimed she was induced into the relationship in that the father misrepresented that he was a divorcee but in fact he was married with children. What is more, the father is a philanderer and has had relationships with at least another woman with whom he has a child. The mother claimed upon discovering these she went into depression and suffered from ulcerative colitis around the time when she was carrying W. The father continued to be polygamous and so she is very much one of his random families.

18. It seems the father does not dispute the mother’s assertion that he was already married when the relationship began.

19. Both agreed their relationship has ended. The mother said they stopped having sexual relations in October 2018 because it was the time the father failed to visit her for 11 months. On the other hand, the father said he and the mother stopped having sexual relations in October 2019 and they formally separated and ended the relationship in around January 2020 when the mother left for the US with W.

20. At this juncture, it is useful to be reminded of the point made by Bodey J in Re P (Child: Financial Provision) [2003] EWCA Civ 837, [2003] 2 FLR 865 at [76(ii)], quoting J v C (Child: Financial Provision) [1999] 1 FLR 152 at 154B that, considerations as to the length and nature of the parents’ relationship and whether or not the child was planned are generally of little if any relevance, since the child’s needs and dependency are the same regardless.

The Mother’s New Relationship

21. The mother has had a new relationship with a gentleman whom I will refer to as “GB” in this judgment. GB is clearly a person of considerable means too. He is the son of a billionaire in Hong Kong who is also featured in Forbes with net worth of US$ 1.5 billion.

22. The evidence suggests that the mother’s intimate relationship with GB started in around April 2019. GB has also been staying in LA and seeing the mother and W there though it is unclear as to whether he has been cohabitating with the mother and W.

The Main Application

23. The parties have since exchanged their evidence and the trial on financial remedies has been fixed to commence in February 2021 with 5 days reserved.

The Mother’s Stance

24. It is not in dispute that during the relationship, at least as from May 2018 till about March 2020, the father was making payment to the mother in the total sum of $400,000 each month. On the top of this was the monthly rental of the Hong Kong Home that was $150,000 at the beginning and was $168,000 when it expired in May 2020; hence, a total of $568,000 per month. Before August 2018 the mother also had unlimited use of the father’s credit card and some cash allowances.

25. The mother has been adamant that W’s habitual residence is Hong Kong; she and W would return to Hong Kong as soon as the situation permits. Therefore, notwithstanding that the mother and W were stranded in LA when the tenancy of the Hong Kong Home expired, the mother renewed the tenancy in her own name in May 2020 for another 2 years at a monthly rental of $157,000. The view taken by the mother is that the Hong Kong Home has been W’s home since his birth – a place which he is familiar with. He would be missing his secured home environment, including his nanny and other domestic staff as well as his friends from school. A young child at his age very much requires stability and a sense of security. The mother is keen to maintain the status quo – the accommodation and all the persons involved in the care of W.

The Father’s Stance

26. Paternity is never in dispute nor is the father’s liability to maintain W. The father is putting up a millionaire’s defence. He is willing to continue to financially support W at a level that reflects his reasonable needs and is able to comply with any order to be made by the court.

27. Even on the father’s version, when the Hong Kong Home was rented, the rental deposit of $450,000 was paid by him and all along the monthly rentals were paid by him up to around January this year.

28. The...

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