"Committed Fraud by Zhong Ankang Insurance"... Mirae Asset Initiates Counterlawsuit

Lawsuit Over Acquisition of 15 US Luxury Hotels
Mirae Asset: "Ownership Uncertainty So Severe Even Insurers Refuse...Deceptive Acts Violating Contract"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] Mirae Asset Financial Group has filed a countersuit against China's Anbang Insurance, which filed a lawsuit demanding the enforcement of the acquisition of 15 luxury hotels in the United States. Mirae Asset claims that Anbang Insurance's failure to disclose the lawsuit related to the ownership of the hotels constitutes fraudulent conduct and a breach of contract.

On the 20th (local time), Mirae Asset Global Investments announced on the 21st that it had submitted an answer and counterclaim to the Delaware Court of Chancery in response to the lawsuit filed by Anbang Insurance.

In its answer, Mirae Asset denied all claims made by Anbang Insurance in the complaint. In particular, it emphasized that Anbang Insurance failed to secure title insurance (insurance that compensates for losses that real estate owners and mortgagees may suffer due to defects in real estate rights) for all 15 hotels subject to the sale by the time of closing.

According to the answer, the Anhui court was separately sued last year in the Delaware Court of Chancery regarding the ownership of the 15 hotels involved in this transaction. Anbang Insurance responded to that lawsuit in December last year but did not disclose this fact to Mirae Asset, which only discovered the lawsuit in February. Subsequently, four insurance companies, including Fidelity National, the largest title insurer in the U.S., as well as First American, Old Republic, and Stewart, all refused to issue full title insurance for the 15 hotels subject to the sale.

Through the counterclaim, Mirae Asset argued that Anbang Insurance engaged in fraudulent conduct for these reasons. It also emphasized that Anbang Insurance breached its representations and warranties to secure and maintain unrestricted full ownership until closing. Furthermore, Mirae Asset demanded the return of the entire deposit of $580 million (approximately 700 billion KRW), which is 10% of the total purchase price, and reimbursement of all attorney fees and litigation costs incurred.

Going forward, Mirae Asset and Anbang Insurance plan to intensively conduct the 'discovery process,' where both parties disclose evidence related to the lawsuit, from next month until July. Following this, based on the documents found during this process, they will exchange a preparatory brief on August 19 and hold a three-day hearing starting on August 24. The first-instance ruling by the Delaware Court of Chancery could be issued as early as late August or early September this year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.