By ThinkPol Staff

Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver is threatening ThinkPol with legal action after we broke the story about how developer Westbank pre-sold nearly one in four Kensington Garden condos, which were heavily marketed overseas, to flippers.

Chris Bennett at the law firm DLA Piper sent ThinkPol a letter on REBGV’s behalf asking us to take down all MLS information that we received from a realtor and used in that article, claiming that our data could be a threat to foreign buyers.

The REBGV’s lawyers allege that ThinkPol’s actions are “unauthorized and illegal.”

“Furthermore, your disclosure of personal information has violated the privacy of several individuals, and has identified them as potential targets for third parties who have concerns about foreign ownership of Vancouver real estate,” Bennett wrote.

REBGV’s counsel is demanding that ThinkPol “immediately and permanently: (a) cease accessing, using, copying and disclosing the Board’s data and database, and (b) destroy all access codes in your possession or control regarding the Board’s database, and (c) remove all of the Board’s data from your website, and (d) destroy all data and other content in your possession or control which you obtained directly or indirectly from the Board’s database.”

Prominent Vancouver litigator Paul Doroshenko responded to REBGV’s lawyers on ThinkPol’s behalf asking them to show exactly why our actions are “unauthorized and illegal” as they claim.

“You state in your letter that the cited journalistic reporting of ThinkPol Media Inc. is ‘unauthorized and illegal.’” Doroshenko wrote. “Based on your letter I cannot determine how the cited article is unauthorized and illegal. Simply put, you have made a bare accusation without referring to any law which has been violated or case law to Support your allegation.”

“Without further detail concerning how, in your client’s view, the article is unauthorized and illegal, I cannot properly advise my client,” Doroshenko added. “If you wish to provide details concerning the legal bases for the accusation it may assist me to advise my client.”