Minority Owners Make Their Case For Horizon Towers

Source : The Straits Times, Wednesday, October 3, 2007

HORIZON Towers minority owners said yesterday that the Strata Titles Board (STB) was right to throw out the estate’s collective sale application over a paperwork glitch.

Mr Ramesh Kannan, who is representing some minority owners, told the High Court that rules should be followed particularly strictly, because they involved compulsory acquisitions of assets.

‘The approach must be strict compliance…when it comes to the forced acquisition of people’s homes,’ said Mr Kannan, adding that the STB had consistently advocated strict compliance in previous cases. The sellers argued on Monday that the glitch - three missing pages - was a technicality that STB could overlook.

They want the court to reverse the STB’s August decision to abort the deal. This would allow the $500 million sale to a group headed by Hotel Properties to go ahead.
But Mr Kannan and Senior Counsel K.S. Rajah, who is representing another group of minority owners, argued that the STB had no powers to disregard the missing pages.
Mr Kannan also noted that upcoming changes in legislation will give the STB the power to ignore technical irregularities, as long as no owner’s interest is prejudiced.

The introduction of this rule proves that Parliament recognises that the STB now has no such powers, he said.

Mr Kannan, Mr Rajah and Senior Counsel Michael Hwang are acting for different groups of minority owners but all argue that the STB’s decision be upheld.

But while the floor was largely given over to the minority owners’ lawyers yesterday, Senior Counsel K.Shanmugam - acting for Horizon Towers buyers - made a brief appearance.

He told Justice Choo Han Teck that his clients’ only interest was to see the sale through. If this happens, the buyers will withdraw their suit against the sellers for breach of contract, without claiming costs, he said. The buyers are claiming up to $1 billion in lost profits.

‘We are not in the business of suing,’ he added, to sneers from the public gallery, where about 40 residents of Horizon Towers were sitting.

The hearing ends today, with the sellers’ lawyer responding to yesterday’s arguments. A decision is expected from Justice Choo in about a week’s time.