The law firm Cheongchul (Attorneys in charge: Park Jong-han, Lee Young-kyung) has won a ruling which dismissed all of the opposing party’s claims, both main and alternative, in the lawsuit where they asserted that the property owned by the client was theirs, demanding the transfer of ownership and additionally claiming 3.6 billion won for the remaining payment and 3.6 billion won for damages.

• The client in this case purchased land from the opposing party and agreed to provide that land for a development project to proceed a joint venture. However, the opposing party not only failed to properly execute the project, but after seeing the client directly engage in the development project, they claimed (i) that the developed land was theirs, (ii) that if the land was not transferred, a payment of 3.6 billion won for the remaining payment of the purchase price must be made, and (iii) that since the client obstructed the land development project, it hindered the fulfillment of the conditions for receiving profit-sharing payments under the profit-sharing agreement, thus asserting liability for damages of 3.6 billion won and filing a lawsuit with the court.

• In particular, the opposing party had claimed in the first trial that the subject land was theirs; however, when the law firm Cheongchul secured a first-instance ruling that dismissed all of the opposing party's claims, the opposing party added claims for the remaining purchase price of 3.6 billion won and damages of 3.6 billion won in the appellate trial.

• The opposing party asserted that if the land is not theirs, it has been lawfully transferred through a proper sale and that they should additionally pay the remaining purchase price of 3.6 billion won as stated in the contract.

The law firm Cheongchul argued that the opposing party’s claims were all unjust based on the following points, and the court accepted Cheongchul's arguments as they were.

Regarding the opposing party's claim for the transfer of ownership,
1) the client holds all the title certificates for the subject land and has directly paid for the acquisition tax, 2) they have repaid the principal and interest on the loan received for the purchase of that land until now, and 3) since the opposing party had established a bank mortgage on the subject land and was unable to repay the loan, there was a risk that the land would go to auction, necessitating the transfer of land to the client, thus emphasizing that it is clear the client purchased the land in light of the circumstances of the land transaction, and

Regarding the opposing party's claim for the remaining purchase price,
4) the purchase price stated in the sale contract reflects the increased value to result from the future development project, 5) that the agreement to share profits from the development project between the client and the opposing party was reflected in the sale contract, and 6) the opposing party did not once demand the payment of the remaining purchase price or issue any notice until the appellate proceedings of this lawsuit, thus emphasizing that the true purchase price of the sale contract for the subject land is 3.4 billion won, and 

Regarding the opposing party's claim for damages,
7) the client has not obstructed the progress of the opposing party’s land development project, and 8) rather, the client has urged the opposing party several times to proceed with the land development project, yet the opposing party has not conducted proper construction, and they asserted this fact.

The court ruled to dismiss all of the plaintiff’s main claim for transfer of ownership registration, the first alternative claim for the remaining purchase price, and the second alternative claim for damages.

This lawsuit is significant as a large-scale case, especially since the opposing party added alternative claims during the appeals process, thus it is meaningful that all arguments which asserted that at least the alternative claims should be established, if not the main claims, were dismissed.

The law firm Cheongchul promises to continue to do its best for the benefit of the client.