$26m buyer Dabin Wang reneged on third Auckland house deal: What the vendors did

An Auckland man and his companies reneged on buying a Herne Bay home after failing to settle two other deals in Takapuna and Milford.

All three vendors took him to court and won.

The Herald reported on December 13 that courts had found against Dabin Wang and his companies for failing to settle deals for $20.1 million, prompting the vendors to seek $4.7m for losses they suffered.

In a separate ruling, released on December 18, Wang’s company Vast Investment offered to buy 34 Hamilton Rd in Herne Bay for $5.7m but again failed to settle.

So Vast must pay more than $700,000 to NZ Tourist Investments.

It was the third case against Wang or one of his businesses in deals totalling $25.8m.

First case - Takapuna property

In the highest-priced deal, Wang - via Barfoot and Thompson agent Bruce Jiao - offered to buy two neighbouring commercial/retail buildings in the heart of Takapuna: 18 and 20 Northcroft St, opposite the high-rise Sentinel apartment tower.

Wang offered $15m in a deal struck in October 2020, buying from Elysian Property Trustee via his company Panstar 15.

18 to 20 Northcroft St, Takapuna are outlined in red. These are two properties at the heart of cases brought by property vendors against Dabin Wang.

Wang’s lawyer Marisa Brugeyroux argued that no judgment should be entered against him. No loss was suffered due to his failure to settle, she said. The court should exercise its discretion to refuse summary judgment. The vendor was already keeping his $2m deposit, she argued.

The judge granted the vendor’s application for summary judgment but declined to rule on how much Wang should pay in damages.

“The issue of quantum of damages for which Mr Wang is liable should be determined at trial,” Associate Judge Taylor decided.

Second case - Milford property

The next case has similarities to the first.

Associate Judge Rachel Sussock’s decision of October 6 said Wang’s company Vast Investment offered to buy a property in a residential area: Dodson Ave, Milford.

But that also failed to settle. No address was given.

Trustees of the Meribel Trust - Sam Gordon Morse and Jennifer Kate Whittle - sued Wang and Vast over not paying $5.1m to buy their property, as agreed. They wanted $324,000 damages from him, as well as keeping his deposit, amounting to $834,000.

In October 2021, the parties struck a deal with delayed settlement, Wang personally guaranteeing his obligations.

A 10 per cent deposit of $510,000 was paid in two lots but by March last year, Vast had not settled nor paid $4.5m due.

Wang said he had wanted to develop that property as well as a neighbouring one, building eight stand-alone houses there.

Liability was not denied but it was argued the $510,000 deposit forfeited should be taken into account when assessing loss.

That deposit covered loss suffered so no judgment should be entered against him or his company, argued his lawyer Brugeyroux and Kai Lang Chiu of McVeagh Fleming.

But the vendors argued they had paid $115,000 real estate agent’s commission, $12,000 in legal fees, ongoing council rates for the place they had expected to sell and wanted the equivalent of interest at a rate of 10 per cent for the $4.5m the company failed to pay.

Associate Judge Sussock granted summary judgment in favour of the vendors, whom she then ordered to file a memo setting out the amount they wanted in damages with supporting affidavits. Dates were projected to take matters into this month.

Third case - Herne Bay house

In the latest case, a December 18 decision from Associate Judge Grant Brittain outlined how Wang’s company Vast Investment failed to settle the $5.7m purchase of 34 Hamilton Rd, Herne Bay.

Vast offered to buy the house in March 2022, with settlement due in June that year. But it never settled and then admitted in court that it was liable for breach of contract but opposed summary judgment because the vendor should have got a higher price on the resale.

Vast argued in its defence that that the resale of the property was not urgent and NZ Tourist Investments should have left the house on the market for longer to get a better price after it failed to settle. The house subsequently sold for $4.9m, which Vast argued was well below its market value.

NZ Tourist Investments’ shareholders are Fleur Mitchell and Allan Mitchell. Fleur Mitchell gave affidavit evidence confirming that after Vast’s failure to settle, they were obliged to borrow a substantial sum from what she describes as a second-level lender, at a high interest rate.

But the judge found NZ Tourist Investments was entitled to recover the loss on resale of $230,000, being the difference between Vast’s $5.7m deal and the $4.9m resale, less NZ Tourist Investments’ retention of Vast’s $570,000 deposit.

NZ Tourist Investments is entitled to interest on the loss on resale at the contractual rate of 14 per cent per annum from the settlement date of the resale, January 24 2023, until payment is made.

All up, Vast must pay more than $700,000 for failing to settle.

Brugeyroux of McVeagh Flemming acted for Wang and said on December 12 when asked about the first two rulings: “As you are asking about matters currently before the court which are being defended, and the court decisions have been reserved, it is not appropriate for us or Mr Wang to comment further on those proceedings at this time.”

Asked for an update today, Brugeyroux said she was still on annual leave.

Anne Gibson has been the Herald’s property editor for 23 years, has won many awards, written books and covered property extensively here and overseas.