Majority owners at Airview Towers win appeal
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/sub/...76511,00.html?
Published April 25, 2008
Majority owners at Airview Towers win appeal
THE Court of Appeal has overturned the ruling by the High Court and Strata Titles Board (STB) on the collective sale of Airview Towers, paving the way for mainboard-listed Bukit Sembawang Estates to acquire the property for $202 million.
Located at St Thomas Walk, Airview Towers became the subject of a civil appeal after a sole resident, Ken Lee, objected to the collective sale, arguing that the minimum 80 per cent approval rate needed was not met in time.
This was because during the process of the collective sale, a few owners had sold their units and their successors had apparently not signed the documents agreeing to the en bloc sale at the date of application.
Although STB and the High Court had ruled in Mr Lee's favour, the Court of Appeal rejected their decision, based on a different interpretation of the reference period during which the minimum approval should be obtained.
The Court of Appeal also ruled that when previous flat-owners signed in favour of the en bloc sale during the permitted period, they also bound their property successors in title.
The group of majority owners in favour of the collective sale was represented by Harry Elias Partnership. The collective sale of the freehold property is expected to rake in about $2 million for each of the 100 owners.
Bukit Sembawang Estates plans to build a 36-storey condominium at the site.
Shares of Bukit Sembawang Estates were unchanged at $9.50 yesterday.
Re: Majority owners at Airview Towers win appeal
http://www.straitstimes.com/Money/St...ry_230844.html
April 25, 2008
RULING OVERTURNED
Airview Towers en bloc case back to Strata board
THE $202 million collective sale of Airview Towers may now be back on after the Court of Appeal yesterday overturned a High Court decision to axe the sale.
The case now goes back to the Strata Titles Board (STB), which will decide whether to approve the sale.
The Court of Appeal found that the 80 per cent requirement for a collective sale to go through was not necessary at the point of application with the STB.
Owners can apply for an STB order as long as the 80 per cent approval of owners is achieved within the set 12-month period for collecting signatures.
The STB and the High Court had rejected the sale of the River Valley area condominium to Bukit Sembawang Estates. They interpreted the law to mean that the 80 per cent requirement was necessary as at the date of application with the STB over the sale.
The Court of Appeal also found that the collective sale agreement bound all owners, including new ones who might have purchased a unit from a majority owner during the collective sale process.
The original owners, in signing up for a collective sale, signed for themselves and future buyers. Part of the dispute centred on two flats the owners sold after signing up for the sale.
The 100-unit estate had one objector, Mr Ken Lee, who was unrepresented. He was ordered to pay costs at the STB, High Court and Court of Appeal levels.
JOYCE TEO
Re: Majority owners at Airview Towers win appeal
You are proven innocent you can go scott free.We dont need to hang you.Cheers!.
Wait a minute.We changed our minds.You are now guilty.Wait for the gallows.
Re: Majority owners at Airview Towers win appeal
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tony Blair
You are proven innocent you can go scott free.We dont need to hang you.Cheers!.
Wait a minute.We changed our minds.You are now guilty.Wait for the gallows.
Hi Tony, give the poor fellow a break. He is really unlucky because the case was relatively straightforward: the law of succession binds the successor into any contract entered by his predecessor and the sale of the two units, blah, blah, blah, does not affect the 80% count which the STB (and curiously, the High Court) seemed to think.
An example is in the tenancy agreement where the owner cannot get out of the tenancy agreement by simply selling his unit to another friend, unless it is part of the tenancy agreement.
If the case were stopped at STB, it would probably cost him about $50k, but now it is easily $200k to $250k. Fortunately, he did not hire is own lawyers. The Court of Appeal alone is about $70k.