BC court strikes fraudulent-conveyance claim against Vancouver family in Chinese investor dispute

# Case snapshot A British Columbia Supreme Court judge struck a fraudulent conveyance claim brought by three Chinese investment companies and cancelled two certificates of pending litigation registered against West Vancouver properties owned by a businessman's son and the son's mother. Justice Branch issued the decision on August 20, 2026.

# What led to the dispute

The investors secured judgments in Chinese courts in March 2019. In November 2019 they filed in BC to enforce those judgments and added a fraudulent conveyance claim against the businessman's son and the son's mother, alleging misappropriated funds had been used to acquire or maintain two West Vancouver homes. The investors also registered certificates of pending litigation against those properties the same day.

# Court's factual and legal findings Justice Branch found the pleadings did not set out the specific factual link required under the Land Title Act. The complaint lacked details such as when the properties were acquired and how any of the RMB payment had been traced to them.

At an examination for discovery the investors' own representative admitted he had no knowledge, facts, or information supporting the fraudulent conveyance allegations. The judge concluded the fraudulent conveyance claim "is bound to fail," noting the investors' theory rested on the assumption that funds must have moved to Canada because the company had no remaining assets in China.

The judge cancelled the two certificates of pending litigation that had been registered against the West Vancouver properties.

# What remains in the litigation The court dismissed the fraudulent conveyance claim and the property freezes, but did not dispose of the entire dispute. The investors' effort to enforce the Chinese judgments against the businessman continues. The claim seeking to hold the son's mother jointly liable also remains. A trial on those surviving issues is scheduled to start July 12, 2027 for two weeks.

# Practical implications for advisors and litigants

• Certificates of pending litigation require a properly particularized factual basis linking alleged misconduct to specific real estate. Vague theories or speculation about where money "must have gone" are insufficient.
• Registering a certificate of pending litigation can freeze property, but courts will cancel it if the registration is unsupported by concrete pleadings and evidence.
• Cross-border enforcement involves two stages: obtaining foreign judgments and then proving in the enforcement jurisdiction the factual connections that allow remedies against third parties or specific assets.

# Bottom line The BC decision removes two property freezes and disposes of the fraudulent conveyance claim because the investors failed to plead or prove a concrete connection between the alleged misappropriated funds and the West Vancouver homes. Other enforcement elements against the businessman and a joint-liability claim against the mother remain and will go to trial in July 2027.