David Tua loses court action

David Tua

Boxer David Tua has lost a legal battle against his former managers over who owns a $7.5 million coastal property at Pakiri, north of Auckland.

Tua claims he brought the property but put it though his company, Tuaman Inc, on the advice of business manager Martin Pugh that it would be better for tax reasons.

Pugh and Tua's other former manager, Kevin Barry, claim the land was never bought for Tua alone. It was instead a company investment and because they each have 25 per cent shares in Tuaman, they also own the land.

The matter played out in a week-long civil hearing in February at the High Court in Auckland and today the decision went the way of Pugh and Barry.

In a written decision released today, Justice Hugh Williams said though Tua may have intended the property at Pakiri to be bought for him alone, he failed to make that clear.

"And, when he should have been alerted to the fact that what he said he intended was not being actioned, he did nothing about it," Justice Williams said.

"Even accepting Mr Tua's expression of his wish to buy the Pakiri land for himself alone was accurate, because the instruction was ambiguous Mr Pugh was not bound to honour it."

The judgement said that there was nothing in writing signed by Mr Tua for an express trust.

"The result must be that Mr Tua has failed to persuade the Court to the required standard that Mr Pugh's actions in committing Tuaman Inc to the purchase of the Pakiri land created an express trust of the whole of the beneficial interst in the land for him alone. What occurred, put simply, was altogether too slender a basis to satisfy the legal requirements for the constitution of an express trust.

"That is not to say he will not, in the ultimate result, be found entitled to a share in the Pakiri land – conceivably, even up to 100 per cent – but if that result occurs it will not occur through the route chosen by him and his advisers for this hearing, an express trust."

Justice Williams declined to grant the application sought by Tua.

"The parties will need to consider their positions in light of this judgment and decide how to proceed towards resolution of the many remaining issues in this litigation," Justice Williams said.

A telephone conference with counsel was scheduled for May 24.

- NZPA and NZ Herald