Litigious Coquitlam man’s ‘revenge’ lawsuit against former friend declared an abuse of process, ordered to pay $8,300

A Coquitlam man has been ordered to pay over $8,300 to his former friend after the civil suit he filed was judged to be entirely without merit and an abuse of the court process.

Ali Ibrahim sought damages against Karim Allibhai in B.C. Supreme Court for breach of agreement, breach of fiduciary duty, perjury, and interference in a business relationship.

Ibrahim also filed a financial interest claim on Allibhai’s property weeks before it was about to sell, an action for which Allibhai counter-sued.

Justice Catherine Murray ruled on May 31, 2024 that Ibrahim’s suit was spurious, and a deliberate effort to punish Allibhai.

“As a result of the (financial claim), the sale of Mr. Allibhai’s property was put in jeopardy,” Murray said. “Mr. Ibrahim used the justice system for an ulterior motive: to exact revenge on Mr. Allibhai.”

Ibrahim has a long history of filing civil lawsuits, and Murray ordered another court date to determine whether he should be declared a vexatious litigant, which could restrict his ability to sue others in the future.

The allegations made against Allibhai date back over a decade, after Ibrahim was arrested and facing extradition to the U.S. over several counts of tax and immigration fraud in 2012.

Claiming to be unable to deal with his financial affairs, Ibrahim gave Allibhai power of attorney (POA) in 2013 for the purposes of collecting rents on his Coquitlam townhouse and managing his bank accounts. Allibhai, along with Ibrahim’s brother and mother, were also made directors of a B.C. holding company.

Less than a month later, Allibhai and Ibrahim’s brother both filed a civil suit against Ibrahim, alleging they lent him $90,000 and $120,000, respectively, and had never been repaid.

Ibrahim, through a lawyer, did not contest the suit and signed a consent order, leading to financial claims being registered against a property he co-owned with his estranged wife.

After being extradited to the U.S. and convicted of immigration fraud in December 2013, Ibrahim returned to the Vancouver area following his release from prison in 2014.

The friendship deteriorated in May, 2020, after Allibhai confronted Ibrahim about several lawsuits he had filed against former girlfriends, according to court documents.

Ibrahim filed suit against Allibhai in December, 2020, alleging rent monies from his Coquitlam apartment were stolen; that Allibhai breached his fiduciary duty by filing suit against him while holding POA; that Allibhai perjured himself by swearing contradictory affidavits in a lawsuit Ibrahim had brought against his former girlfriend; and that Allibhai interfered with Ibrahim’s businesses relationship with another former girlfriend.

Justice Murray dismissed all of these claims, repeatedly highlighting Ibrahim’s lack of credibility throughout her decision.

“Ibrahim’s evidence in this trial consisted of vague allegations, virtually unsupported by any other evidence,” she said. “In fact, most, if not all, of Mr. Ibrahim’s evidence is contrary to all of the other evidence.”

Documentary evidence showed Ibrahim representing himself as a successful, savvy business person with a vast array of experience and business contacts. Yet he portrayed himself to the court as naive in business and litigation, and suffering from health and medical issues.

Although Ibrahim alleged to have “boxes of evidence” relating to Allibhai using rent monies to repair his house, his claims were not supported by any evidence, Murray said.

In regards to Allibhai’s alleged abuse of POA, Murray described Ibrahim’s claims as: “confusing and implausible.”

Ibrahim filed an affidavit in 2022 claiming to have no knowledge of the 2013 suit, nor consenting to any judgement. During cross-examination, however, he conceded to have signed something he thought was a foreclosure document.

Allibhai, meanwhile, testified that Ibrahim had actually instructed him to file this lawsuit.

Murray rejected Ibrahim’s assertion that he did not understand what he was signing, describing him as an “experienced litigant with comprehensive knowledge of court documents.”

In fact, she said the consent order had “more than an air of collusion,” noting that money from any sale of the Ibrahim’s Coquitlam property would be paid out to Allibhai, rather than Ibrahim’s wife.

Murray also noted that despite Ibrahim’s allegation the judgement was obtained fraudulently, he had not moved to reverse it for over a decade, nor has he reversed the POA.

“If Mr. Ibrahim truly believed that Mr. Allibhai was able to somehow use the POA to create such harm, one would have expected that he would immediately rescind it,” Murray said. “Would that not be a concern if someone has stolen from you?”

The suit’s allegation of perjury against Allibhai relates to sworn affidavits he signed in relation to Ibrahim’s lawsuit against former girlfriend, Soomi Lee.

Ibrahim commenced legal action against Lee in 2015, claiming they had been involved in a common-law relationship and filing financial interest claims against two of her properties.

In support of this claim, Allibhai filed an affidavit in 2015, stating he had personally served Lee with the civil suit. After his friendship with Ibrahim ended in 2020, he filed a second affidavit stating that wasn’t true.

Murray dismissed Ibrahim’s claim, stating that while she agreed Allibhai’s original affidavit was false, he signed it on instruction from Ibrahim.

In the fallout from their friendship, Allibhai was also alleged to have interfered with Ibrahim’s business dealings with Naghmeh Mansouri, another former girlfriend.

Ibrahim had met Mansouri in 2016, and the two began a business relationship in 2017.

Mansouri had just begun a career as a financial advisor, and Ibrahim represented himself as a wealthy and experienced business person who could attract tens of millions in investment dollars for her to manage.

Murray noted at this exact time, Ibrahim was claiming to need Allibhai’s help managing his finances, as well as being on disability insurance.

In the course of Mansouri’s business dealings with Ibrahim, she shared confidential information about her clients with him, which led to her being fired and losing her licence to sell insurance and mutual funds.

Ibrahim filed a lawsuit against Mansouri’s clients after they had backed out of a marketing scheme to sell a $15 million West Vancouver home in 2018, causing the homeowners to file a complaint against Mansouri with the Insurance Council of BC.

The relationship came to an end in June 2020, after Ibrahim failed to make car payments on BMW they had co-signed, causing Mansouri to foot the bill despite her appeals to remove her name from the lease.

Ibrahim texted Mansouri and threatened to sue her, claiming she was harming him and his business, according to court records. She responded that it seems like his “real business was suing people,” and told him never to contact her again.

While Ibrahim alleged that Allibhai said things to Mansouri to end their business relationship, Murray ruled the breakdown clearly resulted from Ibrahim’s own actions.

She said even if interference was proven, there is no evidence their business was ever profitable, nor any evidence it would become profitable.

“Whether it actually amounted to anything is questionable,” Murray said. “As with all of his other claims, Mr. Ibrahim has not introduced any evidence of loss suffered.”

Murray also noted Ibrahim’s lengthy history of similar legal tactics.

According to court records, Ibrahim sent an email to his sister in 2016 boasting that his lawsuits are sometimes “personal,” and some previous legal successes resulted from “creative and innovative approaches.”

One such case outlined by Ibrahim involved obtaining freezing orders on his ex-wife’s family assets.

Murray said Ibrahim had no interest in Allibhai’s property, and his financial claim was just another “creative” litigation practice, timed just weeks away from the closing of a sale. The financial claim forced Allibhai to put nearly $62,000 in a trust for over three years, pending the outcome of a trial.

“I have no difficulty concluding that these claims are a deliberate effort to get back at Mr. Allibhai, who Mr. Ibrahim believed wronged him,” Murray said.

Allibhai was awarded $3,336 in general damages, and another $5,000 in punitive damages.

Patrick Penner, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Tri-Cities Dispatch