Qatari Diar is said to be considering lodging its original plans for the redevelopment of Chelsea Barracks, SW3, leaving its former partner CPC Group with no ground for its already submitted high court claim.
Sources said the submission of the Richard Rogers-designed proposals could be made in the expectation that they would be refused.
The potential U-turn comes after Christian and Nick Candy filed a claim, alleging that Qatari Diar had breached the terms of its agreement with CPC by ripping up the £1bn Rogers plans in June.
It claims that the Qataris told CPC that the plans had been withdrawn after London mayor Boris Johnson said that he would use his planning powers to veto them. However, CPC alleges that they were cancelled only after intervention from Prince Charles.
It claims that this is in breach of its agreement, which required both sides to do everything possible to obtain consent, and that it is therefore owed as much as £81m.
The high court will decide on Monday whether the case can be fast-tracked to the spring, rather than late 2010. CPC wants a speedy trial so that an outcome can be determined before new plans are submitted in July.
