Member of family that owns Vancouver Canucks alleges ‘conspiracy’ to disinherit him

Francesco Aquilini, chairman and governor for Vancouver Canucks speaks during a press conference at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, on Friday, Jan. 19, 2024. (Tijana Martin / The Canadian PresS)

VANCOUVER — A member of the Aquilini family that owns the Vancouver Canucks NHL team has filed a lawsuit alleging he was disinherited from a family trust and excluded from family business in a “retaliatory” conspiracy over historical allegations of sexual assault against an unnamed family member.

Matteo Aquilini filed a lawsuit this week in B.C. Supreme Court, naming his grandfather, Luigi Aquilini, and uncles Roberto and Canucks chairman Francesco Aquilini as defendants, both personally and as trustees of the Luigi and Elisa Aquilini Legacy Trust.

The multibillion-dollar Aquilini Investment Group has numerous holdings that include ownership of the Canucks and Vancouver’s Rogers Arena.

The notice of civil claim says Matteo is the son of Paolo Aquilini, another son of Luigi and Elisa Aquilini.

Matteo Aquilini alleges that his grandparents established a trust in 1995 to pass on their wealth to “future generations,” and its terms were “carefully crafted to prevent Luigi from ever benefiting or coming to control the trust property.”

The lawsuit says the legacy trust was set up in 2015, but it was structured in a way that “contravened” the previous trust and was done under the “guise” of reorganization by Luigi Aquilini, who named himself both a beneficiary and a trustee.

“At the time, Elisa was gravely ill, and indeed was hospitalized when she was asked to sign critically important documents,” the lawsuit says.

The defendants have not filed a response to the lawsuit and the Aquilini Investment Group did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

The lawsuit says Elisa’s 2015 death left a “profound void” that unsettled the balance and unity of the family, which was upended in 2020 when one family member accused another of sexual assault during their childhood.

The lawsuit, which contains allegations not proven or tested in court, says after Paolo told his father and brothers about the allegations, they “decided to retaliate against” him to push him out of the family business and disinherit his lineage from the Aquilini Investment Group’s wealth.

“After Elisa passed away, Luigi and his sons Francesco and Roberto wrongfully exercised their control to weaponize the terms of the (trust) and to disinherit the plaintiff and his siblings,” the claim says.

Matteo Aquilini alleges Francesco and Roberto were appointed as beneficiaries of the trust “under a veil of secrecy,” and after they became aware of the assault allegations, they and their father “took retaliatory steps from February 2020 onward to actively exclude Paolo and his children from the family and the family business.”

“Luigi, Francesco, and Roberto also conspired, as pleaded in detail below, to disinherit Paolo’s lineage entirely from the wealth generated by (Aquilini Investment Group),” the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit says the family was in a state of “heightened acrimony” in 2022 when another of Paolo’s sons, Christian Aquilini, who has autism, filed a complaint with the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal against his employer, the Vancouver Canucks Limited Partnership.

“Christian was subjected to a campaign of discrimination, harassment, and bullying by co-workers because of his disability and family status, including negative remarks and a baseless workplace complaint,” the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit says the complaint is still pending, but Christian Aquilini stopped working due to “severe emotional distress” stemming from alleged threats by his uncles.

The lawsuit says the trust’s assets are potentially more than $320 million, and Matteo Aquilini seeks damages for breach of trust, breach of fiduciary duty, conspiracy and unjust enrichment.

This report by Darryl Greer of The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2025.