Civil lawsuits lodged for refunds, compensation over troubled Waterfront project in Pattaya

The buyers are represented in these cases by Chalermwat Wimuktayon, the founder of Magna Carta Law Office. 
Besides the two suits, which are based on consumer-protection law, another group of damaged persons have consulted about suing state agencies that had the duty to supervise and check on the project but allegedly made a mistake that resulted in damages to consumers, said Panthawat Pimsakul, another Magna Carta lawyer. 

Two state agencies have been identified as the possible guilty parties in this regard, he said, adding that this third lawsuit would be submitted to a court by December.
Chalermwat and Panthawat are acting on behalf of 20 buyers who were affected because the project owner was unable to hand over or transfer to them the rights over condominium units as per the contracts they had signed. 
The project remains in the under-construction stage because Pattaya City halted its construction pending probes into alleged violation of the Building Control Act, after it was initially found that the project design was different from the one the authority had approved – and there was also an accusation of public-land encroachment.

The Waterfront luxury condo project had passed the required environment impact assessment and received a green light from Pattaya City to commence construction in September 2008. 
However, local activists in 2014 raised a question over the legitimacy of its construction licence and launched a protest against the 53-storey project near Bali Hai Pier, which allegedly blocks the ocean view from the famous Phra Tamnak Hill.