Charged Atmosphere At Horizon Appeal Hearing

Source : The Business Times, September 29, 2007

Gallery boos buyers' application to intervene

It was an animated session - to say the least - in the High Court yesterday as the owners of Horizon Towers gathered to appeal against the Strata Titles Board's (STB) dismissal of their collective sale application.

Court 6C was packed to the hilt with at least 35 lawyers from no less than five law firms representing the buyers and different groups of owners. It made for a charged atmosphere.

The appeal had been filed by the former sales committee of Horizon Towers, which had filed the application for a collective sale order, and was to be attended by themselves and the minority sellers who had objected to the sale.

But numerous other parties turned up yesterday, on the grounds that they also had a stake in the outcome. One such group comprised the buyers of Horizon Towers: Hotel Properties Ltd (HPL), Morgan Stanley Real Estate-managed funds and Qatar Investment Authority. Represented by Allen & Gledhill, they applied before the High Court to intervene at the appeal.

Their application was greeted by boos from the gallery. Senior Counsel K Shanmugam was interrupted so often that Justice Choo Han Teck, who presided over the hearing, had to ask the crowd for restrain.

The buyers' unpopularity with the majority sellers stemmed from the fact that HPL and its partners have sued the sellers for breach of the collective sale agreement.

The majority sellers' application to the STB was rejected by the board in August, on the grounds that it was defective: specifically, because certain key pages were missing from the application.

STB's decision, coming just days before the sale completion deadline, effectively scuppered the en bloc sale. The buyers then sued the majority sellers, claiming damages arising from a loss of profit of up to $1 billion.

That suit was stayed on Thursday, after the majority sellers agreed last week to extend the sale completion deadline to Dec 11.

Yesterday also saw another group of 13 Horizon Towers owners - who form part of the majority that agreed to the collective sale - applying to intervene in the appeal. This group, which includes local singer Ho Yeow Sun and her husband Kong Hee, are represented by Rajah & Tann.

Both these applications to intervene were met with strong objections. The minority owners - represented by several law firms, including Harry Elias and Tan Kok Quan Partnership - said, among other things, that allowing these two parties in would unnecessarily increase the time and costs involved.

Such proceedings yesterday meant that there was not even time for the STB appeal to be heard. The session will resume on Monday, when Judge Choo will rule on whether to allow HPL and its partners and the group of 13 owners to intervene in the appeal. He will then hear the appeal and decide whether to set aside STB's decision.