Settlement closer in apartment saga
Prime land on Christchurch’s beachfront is mired in a legal wrangle more than eight years after apartments on the site were wrecked.
Sumner’s Cave Rock Apartment complex was damaged in
2011 earthquake, prompting a long battle over insurance.
Its residents were mostly elderly, who wanted to enjoy their retirements in comfort by the sea. Thirteen have since died.
Weeds have grown on the fenced-off site, and the yet-to-be demolished apartments have fallen into ruin. Sumner residents are said to be fed up with the ‘‘blot on the landscape’’ at the village’s entrance.
But the saga may finally be grinding towards resolution.
Yesterday, body corporate head Mike White went to the High Court in Christchurch in an attempt to force agreement from those holding up the final settlement.
Of the 50 owners, 46 have agreed to sell the land to company Peterborough 15 Ltd (P15) for $4.8 million. However, four disagree over how to divide the payout.
The confidential insurance payment was believed to be about
$16m to $17m.
VXJ Holdings director Peter Foster, the owner of the Cave Rock Tavern at the back of the complex, is opposed to the land sale, as is another owner, John Holm. The two sides have been at odds over valuations carried out at different times.
Foster’s lawyer, Virginia Nichols, questioned White’s stewardship of the body corporate.
She questioned him about a September 2017 annual general meeting, at which he advised owners a reassessment of the valuation of the complex would be necessary.
‘‘I don’t recall anyone speaking against the motion to be honest,’’ he said. ‘‘Everyone was in favour, although three postal votes were cast against in and one was flawed.’’
If it was not the case that another assessment was needed, ‘‘there were three solicitors present’’ who he thought might have picked up on that fact, White told the court.
Community board member Darrell Latham told The Press the buildings in their current state were a ‘‘blot on the landscape’’ for people entering Sumner.
‘‘This situation has gone on for far too long and the affected residents need a resolution,’’ he said.
In court, Nichols asked White about the ‘‘hundreds of emails’’ he had given evidence of receiving from Holm.
White said Holm ‘‘accused me of acting illegally. He accused me of all sorts of things, actually’’, but said nothing had come of that.
‘‘And nothing has come of a huge number of similar threats,’’ White said.
Holm was still sending ‘‘two to three emails’’ every few months on the issue, he said. ‘‘I just disregard them now.’’
Justice David Gendall is presiding over the High Court hearing, which continues today.