1、 Background of the case Shanghai Li Xiaohua Law Firm received a call from Hong Kong Special Administrative Region resident Pan Hong: According to the Civil Judgment of Nanjing Intermediate People's Court, the disputed property should be transferred and registered under Pan Hong's name. After the judgment came into effect, through legal procedures, the property rights of both houses have been changed to Hong Kong resident
Pan Hong. Pan Hong is a resident of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and has purchased a property in Nanjing and a property in Shanghai. Due to various reasons, the two properties were transferred and registered under the name of Qian Li respectively under the Nanjing Real Estate Sales Contract and the Equity Transfer Agreement of this contract.
2、 Controversy FocusDoes the case involve the validity of the contract and its legal application?
3、 Proxy Strategy
Li Xiaohua Law Firm formed a team of lawyers to handle this case. The lawyer communicated with the client, reviewed the relevant evidence materials in this case, and went to the real estate registration center where the two properties involved were located to retrieve the materials. They wrote a complaint and evidence list and filed a lawsuit with the Nanjing Intermediate People's Court.
The Intermediate People's Court of Nanjing held a trial, and the lawyer provided a representation opinion:
1. The court should confirm that mainland laws shall be the governing law for the trial of the above-mentioned case disputes;
2. The case involves the Nanjing Real Estate Sales Contract and the Transfer of Rights and Interests under this Contract, which are not the true intentions expressed by the plaintiff Pan Hong; The contract involved in the case should be legally recognized as (not established), and the defendant Qian Li should return the real estate to the plaintiff.
4、 Judgment points
After trial, the Nanjing Intermediate People's Court held that Article 143 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China stipulates that the Nanjing Real Estate Sales Contract and the Transfer of Rights and Interests of this Contract involved in the case are invalid due to untrue expressions of intent, and therefore made a judgment.
5、 Practical insights
The victory in this case not only safeguarded the legitimate rights and interests of the parties involved, but also provided useful judicial practice references for the determination of the effectiveness of Hong Kong related housing sales contracts and cross-border legal application issues. Li Xiaohua Law Firm accurately grasped the focus of the dispute during the agency process, successfully applied legal reasoning, and ultimately led to the support of the original application by the Nanjing Intermediate People's Court, and successfully completed the registration of the property rights change. This result highlights the crucial role of professional legal teams in complex foreign-related property disputes, and also provides valuable precedent experience for resolving similar cross-border transaction disputes.
6、 Legal linkArticle 41 of the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Application of Law in Foreign related Civil Relations stipulates that the parties may agree to choose the law applicable to the contract. If the parties have not made a choice, the law of the habitual residence of the party that best reflects the characteristics of the contract or other laws closely related to the contract shall apply.Article 157 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China stipulates that after a civil legal act is invalid, revoked, or determined to be ineffective, the property obtained by the actor as a result of the act shall be returned; If it cannot be returned or is unnecessary to return, it should be compensated at a discounted price. The party at fault shall compensate the other party for the losses suffered as a result.(The characters in the article are all pseudonyms)