Ballroom Dancing Banker Wins Lawsuit Against Instructor Based On Normal Contractual Principles

Prominent HSBC private banker Mimi Monica Wong ("Monica Wong") recently won an award of HK$62 million from the Hong Kong High Court in her lawsuit against her dancing instructors Saccani and his wife, Fairweather, a 15-time world professional Latin dance champion. The trial attracted enormous publicity and was widely reported both locally and internationally. The HK$120 million or US$15.4 million which Monica Wong agreed to pay for 8 years of ballroom dancing lessons is even by Hong Kong’s extravagant standards, an inordinate amount of money.

The case has bemused many over the dinner table but we will endeavour to analyse the legal basis of the decision. The trial judge, Deputy Judge Muttrie, ruled in his judgment that the public’s interest in the case was entirely irrelevant and "normal contractual principles apply" in this case. The "normal contractual principles" are those concerning implied terms and repudiatory breach.