The court has thrown out a case against an owner at the Lagoon View condo.
District Judge Seah Chi-Ling has dismissed the Lagoon View Owners Association’s (LVOA) case to compel an owner to contribute to a privatisation levy, reported The Straits Times.
The group had sued Mr S.V. Chandran, 80, for refusing to fork out the $35,500 sought from each homeowner at Lagoon View, a condominium in Marine Parade comprising five residential blocks.
The ruling is a setback for the association, as all the other owners have paid their fees.
In total, the LVOA intended to collect $16 million to purchase the estate’s common areas from its owner, the Ministry of Finance (MOF).
Upon completion of the deal, the association would have been able to proceed with the privatisation of Lagoon View, enabling it to redevelop the 99-year leasehold condominium, add new amenities, or put it up for collective sale.
In its argument, the LVOA insisted that the majority of owners were in favour of buying the common-area land during a special general meeting (SGM) in May 2010. In the following month, at least 80 percent of the members agreed to pay the levy before the deadline in December 2010.
After that, the association initiated the privatisation exercise with the Singapore Land Authority (SLA), which was completed in August 2011.
Mr Chandran, a retired police officer, countered that the LVOA failed to obtain the 80 percent threshold, as stated in its own resolution, within the deadline, which he claimed was October 2010, or two months before the date stated by the association.
According to the resolution, if the LVOA does not secure enough votes by the deadline, it is mandated to hold another SGM, but it did not do so.
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
