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ARTICLE · 13 MAY 2014

Does The 'New' Cause Of Action For General Harassment Open Pandora's Box?

Tanner De Witt
Tanner De Witt
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Tanner De Witt

Tanner De Witt

Tanner De Witt is an established independent law firm in Hong Kong. Its primary focus is business...

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The judgment in the case of Lau Tat Wai v Yip Lai Kuen, Joey appears to be a watershed in the development of a general law of harassment.

Hong KongLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
Tanner De Witt
Tanner De Witt

The judgment in the case of Lau Tat Wai v Yip Lai Kuen, Joey handed down on 24 April 2013 appears to be a watershed in the development of a general law of harassment.

New development

Prior to this judgment there had been no authoritative decision in Hong Kong confirming the existence of a right to sue for a tort (i.e. a civil wrong) of general 'harassment'. Previously harassment claims have existed only in specific circumstances arising under specific statutory restrictions, in particular, sexual harassment (Sex Discrimination Ordinance (Cap 480)), racial harassment (Race Discrimination Ordinance (Cap 602)) for example. This new common law development creates a general and very wide basis for legal action based on harassment generally and may lead to a flood of new litigation and cases relying upon this authority. They may arise in the areas of employment law but also in many other legal areas dealing with commercial and personal interaction such as neighbour

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