The Billion-Dollar Battle: Inside the Aquilini Family's Bitter Inheritance War

A seismic dispute is ripping through one of British Columbia's most prominent and wealthy families: the Aquilinis, owners of the Vancouver Canucks NHL franchise. At the heart of this multi-million-dollar battle is Roberto Aquilini, son of the late patriarch Luigi Aquilini, who has launched a bombshell lawsuit against his own mother, Elisabetta Aquilini, alleging he has been unlawfully disinherited from his rightful share of the vast family empire.

The legal documents, filed in B.C.

Supreme Court, paint a dramatic picture of broken promises and familial betrayal. Roberto Aquilini claims that his father, Luigi, had explicitly promised him a substantial 50 percent stake in the family's lucrative sports and entertainment holdings, which include the Vancouver Canucks and the iconic Rogers Arena.

However, he alleges that this promise was systematically undermined, culminating in him being "duped" into signing an agreement that effectively transferred his shares without fair compensation.

The lawsuit details Roberto's assertions that his mother, Elisabetta, is now acting unlawfully by attempting to deny him his promised inheritance.

He contends that his contributions to the family's burgeoning businesses, which span real estate, agriculture, and their crowning sports empire, have been deliberately undervalued and ultimately ignored in the distribution of the family's immense wealth.

This is not Roberto Aquilini's first foray into family litigation.

Court records reveal a previous high-profile lawsuit where he targeted his brothers, Francesco, Paolo, and Enrico, over similar claims of being excluded from the family fortune. That contentious dispute was ultimately settled out of court, but it appears the underlying tensions within the Aquilini dynasty were merely dormant, not resolved.

Elisabetta Aquilini, the defendant in this new action, is not taking her son's allegations lightly.

Her legal team is vigorously seeking to have the lawsuit dismissed, characterizing it as a "frivolous" and "vexatious" attempt by Roberto to rehash old grievances and extract further financial concessions. They argue that the claims lack merit and are an abuse of the court's process, suggesting that Roberto is merely trying to revive matters that have already been settled or are without legal foundation.

The Aquilini family has built a formidable empire from humble beginnings, transforming modest investments into a sprawling portfolio worth hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars.

The public nature of this lawsuit exposes the deep fissures within a family synonymous with success and local pride, casting a shadow over their ownership of the Canucks and their extensive business interests. As the case unfolds in the B.C. Supreme Court, it promises to be a captivating and emotionally charged legal battle, peeling back the curtain on the complexities and conflicts inherent in managing immense wealth across generations.