The B.C. Securities Commission has won a court ruling blocking the sale of a property by a man facing allegations from the commission.

The court was asked to approve a pending sale from Paul O’Connor to Ralph Kelly. The application was opposed by the BCSC and by Assante Capital Management Co.

O’Connor faces a charge under the Securities Act filed by the BCSC back on September 26, 2002. The charge arises out of the alleged misappropriation of funds from clients while O’Connor was employed as an investment advisor. That charge has yet to be proven, and the next scheduled hearing before the BCSC is slated for Sept. 13-14.

Assante is characterized by the court as a creditor of O’Connor; but the judge ruled that it is not a party to these proceedings and, has no status before this court.

The court found that sections of the Securities Act and the Land Title Act give the regulatory charge the same effect as a certificate of pending litigation. “That would mean that no transfer to Kelly could be registered unless either the charge is cancelled or the transfer is made subject to the charge,” it said.

Ultimately, the court decided to deny the application to approve the sale, with liberty to Kelly to reapply for approval of the sale of the property to him on different terms. In a written judgement the said, “There are a host of factors that put in question whether the offer before the court is a fair offer for the property and these have been set out. The court is obliged to ensure that the integrity of the sale process is maintained and that all parties are fairly dealt with in an application to approve the sale. I am not convinced that that is the case here.”