The Tokyo District Court on Monday ordered Urban Development Corp. to pay 67 million yen to a group of residents demanding compensation over the public entity's decision to lower the prices of condominiums after they had bought theirs.
Judge Toshifumi Shibata ruled that discounting the condos was not in itself illegal. However, he said, the corporation was aware that the initial prices on the condos were too high.
"It should have explained (to potential buyers) that it was not planning to put the properties on sale (to the general public) anytime soon, and should have given them an opportunity to make a fair judgment on whether to buy the units," he said.