Ownership of the Grade II-listed Colwyn Bay pier has been contested for several years.
Businessman Steve Hunt, who ran the pier until he was made bankrupt in 2008, said it should have come back to him after three years.
But Conwy council claims it passed to the Crown Estate before it signed a deal to buy the pier in 2012.
A hearing on Tuesday before Mr Justice Morgan included a detailed discussion of events in summer 2011, when the pier was in the hands of a trustee in bankruptcy.
That trustee formally gave up any interest in the pier in August that year.
Mr Hunt told the court the trustee did not follow the process correctly, something they deny.
Representing himself, Mr Hunt said: "I want it back because I'm entitled to have it back. Conwy council have always intended to demolish it - they've turned down offers of lottery money to restore it."
The council's barrister, Louis Doyle, said the pier was in a dangerous state while the rest of Colwyn Bay is being improved.
He said: "The pier is in the centre of a seafront redevelopment. It shouldn't go back to Steve Hunt because of the exceptional circumstances of this case."
The hearing continues.
A dispute over who owns a pier in Conwy has reached the High Court in London.