Rogerio Lam sued again - over Maserati cars this time
Tycoon and daughter did not make the full payment for two Maserati cars, dealer claims
A luxury-car dealer is suing the son of a tycoon for HK$1.3 million owed for the purchase of two Maserati cars.
Auto Italia claims in a High Court writ that Rogerio Lam Sou-fung and his daughter, Pamela Lam Ze-pei, failed to make the full payment on a Maserati GranCabrio Sport and a Maserati Quattroporte S, which they bought in May for about HK$2.3 million and HK$1.7 million respectively.
Rogerio Lam is the son of the late Lam Bing-yam, the founder of Hang Seng Bank.
Auto Italia says the Lams made part of the payment by trading in a Bentley for HK$2.65 million. Pamela Lam then gave an Auto Italia sales executive a cheque for HK$1.38 million on May 21 to pay the balance for the GranCabrio, and the car dealer delivered the vehicle to them two days later.
But Hang Seng bank refused to honour the cheque when it was presented on July 4, court filings showed. Auto Italia claims the Lams "committed a fraud".
"Mr Lam and Ms Lam had no intention of paying the balance of the purchase price for the GranCabrio to Auto Italia at all," the writ stated. The car dealer is claiming the outstanding payment and damages for conspiracy.
This is the latest in a string of legal actions involving Rogerio Lam. Just last week, Kwong Wan Realty, the owner of a luxury Mid-Levels flat, sued Lam for HK$345,766 in rent and sought his eviction from the HK$99,000-a-month home at Bamboo Grove. The owner said Lam failed to pay the rent between August and this month as well as management fees, rates and other charges.
Last month, Hang Fai Finance sued Lam for failing to make repayments on a HK$3 million loan.
That same month, Lam sued auction house Sotheby's for HK$8.9 million in proceeds from sales of antiques. The High Court earlier found that his long-term legal adversary George Tan Soon-gin, former head of the failed Carrian Group, wrongfully sold the antiques at a Sotheby's auction. Tan had borrowed the antiques from Lam in 1982.
In February, Lam succeeded in getting Tan declared bankrupt after Tan failed to repay a debt of more than HK$60 million. The two men have been at loggerheads for more than 20 years.
