It appears that Len Barrie is going to have his day in court with Bear Mountain's former accountants.
A B.C. Supreme Court judge has dismissed an application from Norgaard Neale Camden Ltd. to have Barrie's lawsuit against them dismissed.
"I'm very pleased because we want to go forward," said Barrie, former CEO of the Bear Mountain Master Partnership.
"Now they will have to stand behind their findings. We look forward to having the truth laid out with facts and not fiction."
Barrie had sued the partnership's former accountants for breach of contract and for allegedly causing significant economic loss as well as humiliation, distress and embarrassment.
The lawsuit centred around a controversial report prepared in 2008 by the accounting firm Norgaard Neale Camden Ltd.
According to Barrie's notice of claim, the firm, retained by the partnership in 2004 to provide audited financial statements, was instructed to "determine the actual amounts of drawings by the Barrie Family Trust and Barrie during 2008" and provide a report to the partnership's executive committee.
In Barrie's notice of claim, he alleged the accounting firm "negligently and recklessly exceeded their engagement and purported to investigate broader issues, without actually conducting a proper investigation, and without having all the necessary information."
The resulting auditor's report, leaked to the media in early 2009, alleged the questionable use of more than $25 million in partnership funds.
Barrie claimed Norgaard Neale Camden Ltd.'s report alleged he used his authority as CEO to override or circumvent the internal control system of the partnership, used partnership funds for his personal use, engaged in undisclosed and deceptive transactions, failed to provide complete and accurate information in good faith and was putting the partnership at risk of significant penalties from the Canada Revenue Agency.
Barrie's lawsuit claimed the allegations were false, misleading and defamatory and eventually led to the downfall of the partnership and its development plans.
HSBC took control of Bear Mountain in the fall of 2010 after an eightmonth court-ordered restructuring.
Assets, including two golf courses and a hotel, were transferred to Bear Mountain Land Holdings Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of the bank.
Bear Mountain was placed under creditor protection and Barrie was removed as CEO on March 25, 2010, at the behest of HSBC, the original financier.
At the time, the resort was in default on some of its loans and owed secured creditors more than $300 million. HSBC was owed more than $250 million.
In his reasons for dismissing the application of the accounting firm, Justice Brian MacKenzie disagreed with the firm's assertions that Barrie's suit disclosed no genuine issue or that he was not in a position to sue given his position with the Barrie Family Trust, a partner in the Bear Mountain Master partnership.
MacKenzie also disagreed with the accounting firm's assertion that Barrie's case was an abuse of the process of the court.
