Westbank CEO accused of 'hobnobbing with the rich and powerful' during World Cup instead of attending deposition in court case

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Westbank did not reply Thursday to a request for comment, and neither did their lawyers from the Vancouver office of Blake, Cassels and Graydon.

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In an earlier application filed June 24, Mabberley asked the court to add six additional corporate entities as defendants in the lawsuit, describing them as all “organized under the general Westbank corporate umbrella.” Mabberley’s application says the other companies are all related to and under the control of Westbank and, “ultimately, Ian Gillespie.”

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Westbank’s lawyers emailed Falcone on June 26, according to the affidavit, saying that in light of the application to add six more corporate defendants, it was premature to schedule Gillespie’s examination for discovery. The Blake lawyers said they do not act for the other six corporate entities, and if the court does add those companies as defendants, they may retain their own lawyers. Gillespie should not be examined until the parties and the pleadings have been finalized, Westbank’s lawyers wrote.

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On July 3, Mabberley’s lawyer Falcone filed the application asking the court to order Gillespie to appear, as a representative of Westbank, for examination for discovery in August at a court reporter’s office in downtown Vancouver.

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“Mr. Gillespie has refused to attend a previously scheduled examination for discovery, without excuse or explanation. Counsel for the defendant now refuses to schedule Mr. Gillespie’s discovery because of an application to amend the pleadings,” Falcone’s application says. “In these circumstances, this court ought to impose a date for discovery upon Mr. Gillespie.”

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Reached on Thursday, Falcone declined to comment.

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The allegations in Mabberley’s lawsuit, which was filed last December, have not been tested in court. A three-day trial has been set for October.

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Gillespie started Westbank in 1992 at age 30, and built it into one of B.C.’s largest real estate development companies with a reported $50 billion in projects completed or under construction. Westbank altered Vancouver’s skyline with massive, architecturally striking projects, before setting off to work in other markets including Seattle, Toronto, California, and Tokyo.

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But in recent years, the company has sold major assets, had a project placed under receivership, and has been sued by former employees, including Mabberley, as well as several construction companies and other suppliers, alleging millions in unpaid bills.

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In May of this year, the federal government announced a multi-billion-dollar plan to build two data centres in Vancouver in partnership with Westbank and Telus. Shortly after that, Gillespie told The Vancouver Sun that in addition to the data centres, his company had other major projects in the works, including in California and Hawaii.

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