A High Court judge has ruled that the daughter of a Georgian billionaire has the right to hand back a moth-infested Notting Hill mansion purchased for £32.5m.
Iya Patarkatsishvili and her husband Dr Yevhen Hunyak successfully sued homeowner and property developer William Woodward-Fisher after the judge agreed he had failed to tell them about the moth problem in pre-contract enquiries.
Patarkatsishvili and Hunyak bought seven-bedroom mansion Horbury Villa in Ladbroke Road, west London, which features a pool, spa, gym, wine room, library and cinema, for £32.5m in 2019. Woodward-Fisher had bought it for £10.4m in 2011 and spent about £10m renovating it, increasing the net internal area by more than 200%, court documents said.
But days after moving in, the couple uncovered the moth infestation in the house’s insulation and found insects in their clothing, wine glasses and on their toothbrushes, some of which had to be thrown away.
Georgina Muskett, Senior Associate in our Real Estate Disputes team, gives a view on the judgment in an article by Property Week. She explains:
It is really surprising that the judge effectively forced the seller to take the property back, especially given the relatively broad nature of the enquiries and the amount of time it took the buyers to seek to terminate the purchase contract."
"Ultimately, the buyers managed to persuade the judge that they had not delayed and were able to force the property back on the seller and effectively ‘moth-ball’ the sale contract.
Read the full article in Property Week here.
