外滩地块引发中国开发商法律战

A rare and unusually public legal battle between two of China's most prominent property developers is raising eyebrows in the industry, as well as questions about the solidity of legal agreements there.
两家中国知名房地产开发商之间展开了一场罕见而极其公开的法律战，此事不仅令业内人士吃惊不已，也令外界对房地产业法律协议的可靠性产生了质疑。

It also illustrates the desire of big property developers to pick up choice properties from smaller rivals weakened by Beijing's more than two-year campaign to tame real-estate prices.
此事还表明，大型房地产开发商迫切希望从较小的竞争对手手中攫取优质房地产。中国政府推出已逾两年的抑制房价措施削弱了较小开发商的实力。

A Shanghai court is expected to begin hearing arguments this week in a suit filed in May by Shanghai-based Fosun International Ltd. against Beijing rival Soho China Ltd. Fosun is seeking to claim back its right to acquire a piece of land near Shanghai's prestigious Bund area.
预计上海一家法院本周将开庭审理这起复星国际有限公司(Fosun International Ltd.)今年5月对SOHO中国有限公司(Soho China Ltd.)提起的诉讼案。复星国际力争夺回收购上海外滩附近一个地块的权利。

Fosun owns half the commercial land, but the other half was sold last year to Soho by units of Fosun's former partners there. Fosun claims the other half should have been offered to it first. Soho says the suit is meritless.

复星国际持有这块商业用地的一半，另一半则被复星国际在上海的前合作伙伴的旗下公司于去年卖给了SOHO中国。复星国际声称，另一半本应优先卖给自己。而SOHO中国则说这一诉讼案毫无法律依据。

Other property players in the city are paying attention. 'It's unfortunate that they've gone to court,' said Vincent Lo, chairman of Shanghai-based developer Shui On Land. 'But if you look at this from a positive angle, it shows that Chinese companies are trying to settle their disagreements through proper legal procedures.'
上海其他房地产开发商都在密切关注此案。上海开发商瑞安房地产有限公司(Shui On Land)主席罗康瑞说，很遗憾他们选择了对簿公堂，但如果从积极的角度看，此案显示出中国公司开始努力通过正当法律程序解决分歧。

Indeed, legal experts say the suit could forge new ground in an industry where legal agreements often are short and lack specifics. Local Chinese parties generally prefer less detail in their contractual arrangements, said David Blumenfeld, a Shanghai-based partner at law firm Paul Hastings. The goal is to provide guidelines through which the parties can work out later disputes quietly over the negotiating table, avoiding China's often slow and cumbersome courts.
实际上，法律专家说，此案可能为房地产业奠定新的基础。在中国的房地产业，法律协议常常篇幅很短，并且不够详细明确。普衡律师事务所(Paul Hastings)驻上海合伙人布卢门菲尔德(David Blumenfeld)说，中国当事方常常不愿在合约性协议中做出详细规定。这样做的目的在于提供一些指导原则，让当事方在今后发生纠纷时能够通过谈判私下里进行解决，避免在中国走常常缓慢、繁琐的法庭程序。