Former Bear Mountain chief executive Len Barrie’s attempt to put the development’s one-time accounting firm on trial for breach of contract has been thwarted, but that won’t stop the former professional hockey player and developer from pursuing the matter.
“It’s far from over, I’m just getting started,” said Barrie, who found out this week the B.C. Supreme Court sided with the accounting firm of Norgaard Neale Camden, ruling the matter could be dealt with by summary trial.
Justice Keith Bracken ruled that summary judgment was reasonable, rather than a full trial, and that Barrie had no standing “to sue the defendants for damages on a personal wrong arising from an alleged breach of a contract to which” he was not a party.
Bracken further ruled there was nothing to support a finding of any breach of contract by Norgaard Neale Camden and that Allan Neale, a principal of the firm, was not in any way personally liable.
Bracken dismissed the matter.
Barrie, who was acting as trustee of the Barrie Family Trust, said this loss in court will not stop him.
“It was the angle we had to go with,” he said. “We knew it was a long shot suing as partner and trustee, but now that I have been exonerated by the RCMP I will pursue them personally.”
The Crown announced earlier this year that after a three-year RCMP investigation into aspects of the Bear Mountain development that no charges would be approved against Barrie.
The investigation started in late 2010 after former NHL goaltender Sean Burke, one of the early investors in Bear Mountain, complained to police.
Burke, who invested $600,000 in Bear Mountain and was one of 18 current and former NHL players who invested a combined $12 million, said he had concerns that Barrie was using Bear Mountain to fuel a high-end lifestyle and that while others lost their investment, Barrie was still flying high.
The bank HSBC took control of Bear Mountain in the fall of 2010 after an eight-month, 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 chief executive in March 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.
Barrie said Tuesday he would love to move on but he is intent on clearing the air and his name. “I’ve always said I’ve never done anything wrong. Could we have done some things better, absolutely. But I’m not going to stop. I want the truth out there,” he said.
Barrie’s suit against Bear Mountain’s former accountants was for breach of contract and for allegedly causing significant economic loss, as well as humiliation, distress and embarrassment with publication of an auditor’s report.
In Barrie’s original notice of claim, he alleged the firm made allegations without 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 about $25 million in partnership funds.
Barrie said Norgaard Neale Camden’s report alleged he used his authority as CEO to override or circumvent the internal control system of the partnership, and used partnership funds for personal expenses.
Barrie’s lawsuit said the allegations were false, misleading and defamatory and eventually led to the downfall of the partnership and its development plans.
He said he hopes to pursue his personal lawsuit against the firm as soon as possible. “It will be right away, I wanted to see how this went,” he said.
