Discovery Bay resident 'shocked' at losing case over blocked sea view
JULIE CHUjulie.chu@scmp.com
PUBLISHED : Sunday, 04 October, 2015, 3:25am
UPDATED : Sunday, 04 October, 2015, 3:25am
Yang's sea view was blocked after the Amalfi was built.
A homeowner who failed in her lawsuit against a Discovery Bay developer for causing her to lose part of her sea view had harsh words for the judge's decision.
Yang Dandan also accused the developer of playing "word games" to entice buyers.
The Canadian-Chinese entrepreneur was speaking for the first time since she lost her claim of HK$8 million in damages on Friday and was ordered to pay the legal costs of the developer, Hong Kong Resort Company.
Yang yesterday expressed shock over the High Court ruling, in which the judge said she could not prove she had suffered any tangible loss.
"In any truly democratic and lawful country, it would never happen that somebody could be allowed to use word games to talk consumers into making purchasing decisions," she said.
"I can understand the developer must win in order to prevent tens of other Chianti residents from hauling it to court."
Yang would be "discussing the next steps with my legal team", she said.
Yang, who was named one of the top 10 female entrepreneurs by Forbes magazine in 2011, paid about HK$17.2 million for a 1,667 sq ft duplex flat at a top floor of the Chianti development in 2007.
In 2011, part of her sea view was blocked after towers of another project, the Amalfi, were built in front of her flat, pushing down the value of her property, the court heard.
"The fact that the judge even considered the sales brochure completely normal, rather than misleading, was a real blow to me," Yang said.
In her testimony, she said the developer provided false sales information that misled her into thinking future projects would not block the view from her flat.
Deputy Judge Kent Yee Kai-siu wrote in his ruling: "While I do not doubt the genuineness of her frustration with the loss of the sea view, which is very minor to my mind, I am of the firm view that her claim is without sound evidential and legal basis."
Yang was unable to show she had been misled by the developer or had suffered any loss, Yee found. The judge also found, in a visit to her flat, that just part of the sea view was blocked.
Yang accepted information in the sales brochure that indicated a vacant site next to the Chianti would be used for a "garden house residential development" and a "mid-rise residential development", the court heard.
Yee noted the brochure carried disclaimers saying "all information and photos are for reference only". "The disclaimers … were so clear that a reasonable reader of the brochure even with lesser commercial and education background could not possibly regard the Amalfi's description as any definitive statement of fact," the judge wrote.
If the sea view was a genuine concern, Yee said, Yang should have checked the outline zoning plan of the site.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1863896/developer-played-word-games-entice-buyers-discovery-bay
