Imogen Dodds & Jamie Sutherland consider a Hong Kong case that gives clarity on limitation periods in constructive trust claims
- In Hui Chun Ping v Hui Kau Mo [2024] HKCFA 32, Lord Hoffmann confirmed in the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal that claims against category 2 constructive trustees (ie, people whose trusteeship arises from a wrongful act) do not fall within the equivalent provision of s 21(1)(b) of the Limitation Act 1980.
- Accordingly, claims by a beneficiary to recover trust property from a category 2 constructive trustee are not excluded from the application of limitation periods.
- Instead, such claims are subject to the usual six-year limitation period.
The Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong published its decision in Hui Chun Ping v Hui Kau Mo [2024] HKCFA 32 on 23 December 2024, with the lead judgment given by Lord Hoffmann. It is of interest to those practising in England and Wales, as the statutory provision considered by the court is in materially identical terms to s 21(1)(b) of the UK Limitation
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