Concord Pacific loses appeal of deal involving ex business partner and former Expo Lands
CBC
The B.C. Court of Appeal has dismissed Concord Pacific's bid to overturn a trial decision that led to a court-ordered award of millions of dollars to Singapore-based billionaire Hong Leong Oei.
Tuesday's judgment is the latest in a protracted legal dispute between tycoons — Oei and Concord president Terry Hui — over the development of a prime piece of Vancouver waterfront property: the Plaza of Nations on Pacific Boulevard.
Oei says the $800-million site is one of the last developable waterfront plots in Vancouver.
It's been at the centre of a long-running legal battle after a sales deal that went sour seven years ago, with Concord Pacific alleging Oei had acted in bad faith, breaching an agreement.
The disagreement cascaded into a series of lawsuits and counter lawsuits.
Concord appealed after it was ordered last February to pay Oei $5 million in special costs.
A proposal currently before city hall that would have the Plaza of Nations become Expo Gardens, a waterfront neighbourhood with substantial public space and a pedestrian bridge linking Rogers Arena and B.C. Place Stadium.
Thirty-two years ago, Oei bought the land for $40 million and, In 2015, almost sold it to Concord before the deal fell apart.
In 2015, Hui filed a lawsuit against Oei alleging that he had acted in bad faith and breached their sales agreement.
B.C. Supreme Court Justice Peter Voith dismissed Concord's claim in 2019, ordering it to pay Oei's costs due to the "egregious dishonesty" of one of Concord's witnesses.
Concord appealed.
On Tuesday, a three-person panel of the B.C. Court of Appeal upheld the earlier trial decision to dismiss Concord's claim in a split decision, with Justice Sunni Stromberg-Stein dissenting.
Oei and his companies — Hong Kong Expo Holdings Ltd. and Canadian Metropolitan Properties Corp., have also filed a counter suit against Concord Pacific, Hui and others seeking $245 million, claiming abuse of the legal process.
Concord says the lawsuit, which has yet to be resolved, is, itself an "abuse of process" that asks for excessive damages.