Saturday, May 17, 2008

Regent Garden Owners Make En Bloc Appeal

Source : TODAY, Weekend, May 17, 2008

Should those who oppose an en bloc sale get more money for their flats than those who support it?

Disgruntled owners of homes in Regent Garden don't seem to think so. They are going to the Court of Appeal, after property developer Allgreen offered six owners more money than it had to the others so that the six would no longer hold up the sale.

This, after a High Court decision last month that the en bloc sale of the West Coast condominium should go ahead.

Some 23 of the 25 owners who sold at a lower price filed a notice of appeal on Thursday. They are not trying to reverse the sale but think everyone should get the same amount of money.

Allgreen described the appeal as "curious", given that the sale of Regent Garden was actually completed yesterday. "Allgreen intends to vigorously contest the appeal, and all claims and allegations made by the appellants," it said in a statement.

Last month, the High Court ruled that allegations against developer Allgreen of a breach of contract were without merit and ordered the sale to go ahead.

The case was a first-of-its-kind in which majority owners, after agreeing last April to the en bloc sale, sued the developer. They argued that Allgreen had overstated the development charge, thus depressing the sale price. At the time, they also alleged that it gave "disproportionately high" proceeds to win over the six erstwhile minority owners.

Allgreen, represented by lawyer Davinder Singh, has said these claims were "an attempt to reopen a concluded bargain".

No comments: