Ex-All Black loses battle with bank

Kit Fawcett. Photo / Coastal News

Former All Black Kit Fawcett has lost another round in his legal battle with the SBS Bank over a million dollar debt on a Coromandel property development.

Representing himself in the High Court at Hamilton this week, the property developer applied for a judgment favouring SBS, formerly the Southland Building Society, to be stayed while he pursued an appeal to the Court of Appeal.

His application was dismissed but he told NZPA today that he would still be speaking to his lawyer about lodging an appeal.

The $1.3 million debt is claimed over a mortgage SBS Bank held on the Tairua Palms Estate subdivision.

The 18-section subdivision development stalled in 2008 with Fawcett saying Thames-Coromandel District Council had "made things difficult in terms of getting title" so sales contracts could not be completed.

The subdivision was sold at a mortgagee sale last year, reducing the debt claimed by the bank from $2.15m. The CL Fawcett Family Trust had been the mortgagee and Fawcett the guarantor.

Fawcett, who played his only two tests for the All Blacks on the 1976 tour of South Africa, said today that the subdivision was "sold cheap" - therefore increasing his liability as guarantor.

"I am saying the valuation the bank got was unacceptable. This guy discounted it from $930,000 to $660,000 - three months after they accepted a valuation of $2.7 million on it," he said.

"They are saying because they went to the market, they got the best price. But the reserve price was based on a discounted valuation and if they'd had a more realistic reserve, a higher price could have been negotiated and my liability would have been less."

SBS Bank declined to comment on its litigation with Fawcett.

- NZPA