The son of former Vancouver Canucks co-owner Paolo Aquilini has filed a lawsuit alleging that his grandfather manipulated a family trust to deprive some of his grandchildren of money their grandmother intended for them.
The plaintiff, Matteo Aquilini, recounts in the lawsuit filed this week in B.C. Supreme Court that his grandparents, Luigi and Elisa Aquilini, established a trust in 1995 called the Elisa Aquilini Family Trust which was to benefit her offspring and remain outside the management of Luigi.
“Its express purpose was to benefit their children and grandchildren, which includes the plaintiff, Matteo Aquilini. The terms of the trust were carefully crafted to prevent Luigi from ever benefiting or coming to control the trust property,” the suit alleges.
But the lawsuit alleges that shortly before Elisa Aquilini’s death in 2015, Luigi Aquilini arranged to reorganize the trust to name himself as both trustee and beneficiary. He did so in concert with his sons Francesco and Roberto, who among many other corporate roles are the owners of the Vancouver Canucks. Paolo was also an owner of the team until earlier this year, when he left the partnership.
The new trust was called the Luigi and Elisa Aquilini Legacy Trust, or LEALT.
“It was meant to be a successor to the Elisa Trust and, as such, continue to operate based on the principles of the Elisa Trust for the benefit of the grandchildren of Luigi and Elisa,” the suit explains. But the lawsuit alleges that Luigi instead made moves “to benefit from and take control of the trust property of the Elisa Trust.”
The lawsuit names Luigi, Roberto and Francesco Aquilini as defendants. It seeks to have the court restore the previous provisions of the Elisa Trust, remove Luigi, Roberto and Francesco Aquilinias trustees, and appoint an independent trustee or trustees.
None of the allegations in the lawsuit have been tested in court.
“After Elisa died, Luigi and his sons Francesco and Roberto wrongfully exercised their control to weaponize the terms of the LEALT and to disinherit the plaintiff and his siblings,” the suit alleges.
“This started with Luigi, Francesco and Roberto excluding Paolo from the business in February of 2020. Later, they engaged in a concerted and covert scheme to exclude the plaintiff from all manner of distributions and benefits from the LEALT. They did this in contravention of the LEALT’s stated purpose and original guiding principles.”
“Luigi, Francesco, and Roberto acted out of self-interest to exclude Paolo’s lineage from the trust property contrary to Elisa’s and Luigi’s express intentions in creating the Elisa Trust,” the lawsuit asserts.
The lawsuit claims in further allegations untested in court that, in January 2024, Luigi Aquilini moved to exclude most of Francesco Aquilini’s children, those born to his ex-wife Taliah, as well as Matteo and Paolo Aquilini’s three other children, as beneficiaries to the trust.
“Luigi’s direction was codified in a document that only Luigi has the power to revoke. Luigi created the exclusionary document in the midst of a dispute with Paolo. The result was that Luigi had disinherited some of his own grandchildren without removing them as beneficiaries of the LEALT,” the suit claims.
The Aquilini family, through the Aquilini Investment Group, controls a business empire across Canada and the United States.
Luigi Aquilini emigrated from Italy in 1954 and over the years the family amassed business interests in property development, rental apartments, berry farms, hotels and restaurants, viticulture and more.
They bought 50 per cent of the Canucks in 2004, then full ownership in 2007 after an acrimonious court process involving two other major B.C. property developers, Ryan Beedie and Tom Gaglardi.
The Canucks franchise has reportedly been valued by bankers at $2 billion.
The Canucks have acknowledged a request for comment on the lawsuit, but have not yet commented further. A request for comment was placed with NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly, but he has not yet responded.