A new x-storey office building in the Central District of Hong Kong was erupleted in June, Just over six months after constriction started.
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An Interesting aldelight in the his- locy nd the building was the action: brought by the owners of the former Bank of China Building.
the Supreme Court. where they asked for ▲ perpetual Injunction to restrain The Local Printing Press Limited from erecting the building immediately ad- Joining their wall and so blocking thelf windows.
The motion involved the theory of 'unnlent lights" by which the plain- tills alleged they were entitled to the right of light and sir, of which they would be deprived if the defendants were permitted to erect their propus- ed new büllding as planned.
In his Judgment, which was hand ed down to Counsel, the Senior Pulse Judge, Mr. Justice Williams, salu that Counsel for the plaintiffs based his claim to the injunction on three grounds, viz.
A prescriptive right to light and air under the Prescription Act, 1832.
2. A Grant of the right to Ught and aur, express or implied. arising from the Crown lease and by virtue of the later sale of plaintiffs' land in 1881 to plaintiffs' predecessors.
3. On modern equitable principles, the Court should protect plain-
Phitograph of the buskling in Daddell 50red-
[1
With regard to the first point. Mr This was erected at the beginning of Justice Willams sald in his judgment: the century and originally coulained As to the right to light, under the quarters frit the staff of the Electric
a is well eattied that when Company with garage on the ACL ID trements are held by two persons ground floor. When It was purchased. tinder lease from the same landlord, by The Local Printing Press Limited the lessee of either tenement may a few years ago 11 was converted into acquire during his term a casement on office building with a shop on the of light as against the other lessive ground floor and his own landlord as reversionér of the servlepi tenement In my
The building itself covers in area.
the landlord is the Crown, as here, designed to be Rexible in plan. opinion, however, It is different when of about 5.500 square feet No right to liga can be acquired fivers are basically similar, though under Section 3 of the Act as against the top three the Crown; similarly no easement of smaller in area due to set bucks.
floors are slightly
light cao be acquired under the statute as against a lessee (tenaal! holding from the Crown".
It WAS All
The first, second, and thira Roors are cantilevered out to permilt the alexing of the entire facade, whteli The site of Curton House is located conformy with the most modern Ideas tlfts from the proposed Injury. on the west side of Duddell Street, of office bullding design. The full Boiding that there was nothing to the other three boundaches being front elevation has been treated as Justify him granting the order for defoul by existing buildings, and one unit up to the first setback In which they asked, his Lordship. In a comprises an area of 6.000 square feet. the lower part of the glazed section. 10-page written judgment dismissed
aluminium louvers have been set in, the mution for an injonctim to A four-storeyed building owned by the object of which is to provita prevent the erection of the new the Hong Kong Electric Company concealed built-in air condliloning buliding.
Limited previously occupied the site ducts. This is one of the musi
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