Kadoorie empire embroiled in feud with ex-in-house lawyer, Hong Kong court document shows

A bitter legal tussle between the Kadoorie business empire and a fired in-house lawyer has spilled into public view, involving a HK$25 million (US$3.2 million) golden handshake, an annual HK$8 million consultancy contract and more than 500 emails of accusations.

A judgment handed down by the Court of Appeal last month revealed details of the case first brought about by Sir Elly Kadoorie & Sons, the plaintiff, against Samantha Jane Bradley, the company’s former director of the legal department.

The Court of Appeal led by three judges ruled that, among other things, the court had jurisdiction to grant an injunction to the plaintiff against Bradley to restrain her from continuing her acts of harassment; and whether the injunction ought to be granted could only be determined after trial.

Thus it sent the case to the lower court for fresh consideration as to whether the plaintiff’s claims should be dismissed.

In a writ filed to the Court of First Instance two years ago, the plaintiff sought to restrict Bradley from sending a large number of emails containing “hostile and disparaging” allegations to a family member and executives of the firm, its employees and its legal representative.

In July, Britain’s employment tribunal made a judgment available to the public that showed Bradley, a UK national practising law for nearly three decades, advanced the legal battle in the country’s court two years ago.