Fung Shui master Tony Chan Chun-chuen expressed his willingness to settle his legal battle with the Chinachem Charitable Foundation after a judge yesterday refused to delay the start of the case for another two months. '[The case] can be settled. I never thought it was impossible to settle it,' Mr Chan, who has claimed to be the lover of the late Nina Wang Kung Yu-sum, said outside the High Court in Admiralty. 'Just put away prejudice and personal interests. And I have not set a bottom line for negotiating a settlement.' He and the foundation both claim to be the sole beneficiary of the late tycoon's estimated HK$100 billion estate in wills dated four years apart. The fung shui master's comments followed the rejection of the foundation's request for the court battle to be postponed from April 27 to early July to allow more preparation time. Denis Chang SC, for the foundation, had argued there would be insufficient time for his newly appointed team to take up the case properly. Mr Chang and barrister Jeremy Chen only stepped into the HK$100 billion probate suit a week ago, after a change of legal team took place following the foundation's claim to have a 'funding issue'. But Mr Justice Johnson Lam Man-hon said: 'I would not grant you adjournment unless you give me basis ... you have to work double [as] hard.' The foundation's previous solicitor, Brian Gilchrist, who stopped representing the foundation on February 13, appeared in court yesterday as a witness. Mr Gilchrist was one of the witnesses subpoenaed by Mr Chan's barrister, Jonathan Harris SC, to hand over documents relating to legal advice he gave to Wang before her death from cancer in April 2007. Mr Gilchrist, formerly a partner at JSM and now a partner with Clifford Chance, had represented Wang in her previous suits against her father-in-law, Wang Din-shin, over the estate of her husband, Teddy. Tycoon Teddy Wang Teh-huei was kidnapped in 1990. His body has never been found and he was declared legally dead in 1999. Nina Wang launched a decade-long battle with her father-in-law over the right to control her husband's Chinachem Group. The court yesterday heard that Mr Harris was seeking documents, including e-mails exchanged between the solicitor and Nina Wang, in addition to notes of meetings and conferences. Mr Gilchrist said he would not give out those documents because legal privilege was claimed. He said he did not actually possess the documents because the originals had been returned to Nina Wang's assistant. Nicholas Hunsworth, a partner of JSM, told the court yesterday that he believed copies of the documents had been kept by the firm, but the estate administrator was claiming legal privilege. Mr Justice Lam ordered a hearing to be held on March 12 for arguments from Mr Harris and the administrator over the issue of legal professional privilege.
