Fine China Capital Investment Limited v Qi

Fine China Capital Investment Limited, a company incorporated in Hong Kong, sought a freezing order against Tao Qi, the alleged trustee of a trust that includes shares in CSJH (Australia) Pty Ltd, an Australian company. Fine China alleged that Qi breached the trust by selling shares in CSJH, deregistering the company, transferring funds, and seeking personal benefit. The application was made ex parte due to the urgency of preventing the dissipation of trust assets. The legal issues before the court included whether Fine China had presented a sufficiently arguable case to justify the issuance of a freezing order, and whether service of the application and orders could be effected outside Australia.

The court found that Fine China had presented a sufficiently arguable case to support the issuance of a freezing order for a limited period, pending further articulation of its claims and provision of security for damages. The court noted that while Fine China had not yet filed an originating application, it appeared that such an application would fall under categories allowing service outside Australia without leave. The court granted leave for Fine China to serve the application, affidavits, and orders on Qi by various means, including email and social media, due to the difficulty in effecting personal service. Fine China was required to file and serve an originating application and statement of claim by a specified date, along with further affidavit material if it wished to extend the freezing order beyond the initial period.

The court issued a freezing order against Qi, effective until the end of Friday, 28 July 2023, and granted leave for Fine China to serve the necessary documents outside Australia. The order also detailed specific methods for serving the documents on Qi, required Fine China to file and serve an originating application and statement of claim by 27 July 2023, and scheduled a case management hearing for 28 July 2023. Costs were reserved, and liberty to apply was granted.