KSL Holdings Bhd ... Dec09

The four-year court battle between property developer KSL Realty Sdn Bhd and Danaharta Hartanah Sdn Bhd over parcels of land measuring 1,516 acres (613 hectares) that are currently under the stable of companies belonging to Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Albukhary ended with the Federal Court shutting the final door on the Johor-based property developer.

KSL is a subsidiary of Main Market-listed KSL Holdings Bhd while Danaharta Hartanah is a wholly owned subsidiary of Pengurusan Danaharta Nasional Bhd which folded up in 2005.

Chief Judge of Malaya Tan Sri Arifin Zakaria, who sat with Federal Court Judges Datuk Mohd Ghazali Mohd Yusoff and Datuk Md Raus Sharif, announced the court’s unanimous decision to dismiss KSL Realty’s application to review a decision by a different panel on the Federal Court that disallowed the company from appealing the Court of Appeal’s decision in the matter.

To recap, the Court of Appeal on June 5, 2008 overturned a High Court decision in favour of KSL Realty against Danaharta Hartanah.

The dispute arose from a sale and purchase agreement (SPA) between KSL Realty and Danaharta Hartanah, dated April 11, 2005, for three plots of land in Mukim Tebrau, Johor Bahru. KSL Realty had paid a 10% deposit of the purchase price of RM264.1 million, which was subsequently returned when the deal failed to get the necessary approvals.