The Pines members sue Peter Kwee; hearing dates in Nov and Dec

Singapore

ABOUT 145 members of The Pines club are seeking tens of thousands of dollars in damages per plaintiff from motoring tycoon Peter Kwee and his company Exklusiv Resorts, for the loss of the use of club facilities and loss of the club membership, among other things.

According to a statement of claim seen by The Business Times, the lawyers representing the plaintiffs are taking three courses of action. They had earlier appointed Colliers International to assess the damages to members.

Colliers, under the "breach of contract" course of action, has set out damages in the range of S$81,700 to S$117,000.

Under "tort of deceit", it has set out damages in the range of S$81,700 to S$117,000. Under "tort of negligence", it has set out damages in the range of S$37,400 to S$99,500.

Members had filed a lawsuit against Mr Kwee and Exklusiv Resorts in July 2019, following the latter's denial of liability in late 2018. Lawyers of Rajah & Tann, acting for Mr Kwee's company Exklusiv Resorts, had rejected allegations in the members' letter of demand and called their claims "baseless".

A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU

Tuesday, 12 pm

Property Insights

Get an exclusive analysis of real estate and property news in Singapore and beyond.

Sign Up

The members had said that when the club was closed for renovation in 2013, they had understood that the club management had promised to build new facilities for them. However, in March 2013, Exklusiv Resorts sold the entire land parcel (with a 103-year lease) to property developer Oxley.

Two hotels, Novotel Singapore and The Mercure Singapore, opened on the plot in late 2017.

These members thus demanded that Exklusiv Resorts procure back one of the two hotels built by Oxley and convert it into the club premises "promised" to them in 2013.

In return, Mr Kwee said he had offered members the use of a newly built clubhouse located at the Laguna National Golf and Country Club, as well as discounts and other benefits of the new Dusit Thani Laguna Singapore resort to members of The Pines.

The resort opens for business from Nov 15, 2020, after a delay in construction because of the disruption caused by Covid-19.

However, the lawyers representing the plaintiffs said that no formal offer has been made to their clients.

Rajah & Tann's Vikram Nair and Foo Xian Fong are acting for Mr Kwee and Exklusiv Resorts, while BC Lim & Lau's Lau Kah Hee and Fikri Yeong act for the plaintiffs.

Eight days of hearing have been set from Nov 24 to 26, and Nov 30 to Dec 4, 2020 before Justice Chua Lee Ming.

When contacted, Mr Kwee confirmed that he will be attending the hearing and will be taking the stand.