The High Court has given judgment in favour of a US buyer of KN95 facemasks sourced by a Hong Kong seller from various Chinese factories during the Covid 19 pandemic. The Court accepted that sample tests by a US governmental authority and a EU testing provider were representative of the entire shipments and demonstrated non-compliance with PRC, EU and US national standards for particle penetration. The Court applied s.53 of the Sale of Goods Ordinance (Cap. 26) to assess damages of over US$5m, finding that the buyer could recover both (a) wasted expenditure in the form of lost purchase prices and incidental expenses, and (b) net loss of profits on proven intended sub-sales, taking care to avoid double counting. Edward Alder of Prince’s Chambers instructed by Hill Dickinson Hong Kong acted for the successful buyer.

Dialectic PR LLC v Thinking Group Ltd [2025] HKCFI 1555, Hon Cheng J

https://www.hklii.hk/en/cases/hkcfi/2025/1555

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