Hong Kong High Court judge urges feuding family of late billionaire tycoon Henry Fok to drop lawsuit
- Warring relatives should think about alternatives to the courtroom for resolving questions surrounding Fok’s HK$11.3 billion estate, judge says
- Five offspring from Fok’s first family are at loggerheads over a lapsed share option for megaproject in mainland China
A judge has asked the feuding family of late Hong Kong tycoon Henry Fok Ying-tung to consider alternatives to their lawsuit over his multibillion-dollar estate, warning relationships could worsen should the hearing continue.
Mr Justice David Lok Kai-hong on Friday encouraged parties to use the weekend to think about the case, as the court expects to start hearing evidence and call the first witness next week.
Out of concern there would be “further damage to relations” once witnesses took the stand, the judge said: “I would strongly urge parties to consider other options.”
The comment came just a day after he lamented how “very sad” it was that this dispute should end up in court.
“The court certainly does not want to see it getting to this stage,” Lok had said.
The High Court was hearing a fresh round of the legal battle over Fok’s HK$11.3 billion (US$1.4 billion) estate, this time in relation to a lapsed option to his dream project in Nansha in Guangzhou, which was considered significant to the valuation of one of his three flagship companies, Henry Fok Estates.
The Post reported in 2015 that, according to one estimate, the project was worth 30 billion yuan (US$3.9 billion).
