The case of a Georgian billionaire and her husband suing a property seller for £36m over a moth infestation at their London mansion
Demonstrates “the fine line between buyer beware and the Seller’s responsibility to disclose material information.”
So says property lawyer Hannah Clough of Rawlins Davy Reeves.
Iya Patarkatsishvili, the daughter of an oligarch, and her husband, are suing the seller of their luxury home for not telling them about the moths which they say ruin their clothes and spoil their wine, and have forced them to install 400 traps around their house.
They want their money back on the £32.5m purchase of the home, plus damages.
Hannah said: “The couple carried out an extensive survey and raised an enquiry specifically to cover any type of infestation. I would think that this shows they made significant effort to do due diligence.
“This is an important obligation for any buyer as the initial position is to put the obligation on them to satisfy themselves.
“By asking the question relating to vermin in their enquiries and then relying on the Seller’s reply I can understand why they believe they have been misled.”
She added: “I think it is important for Buyers to be entitled to rely on replies from Seller’s to an extent as there are some problems that may only become apparent once in long term occupation.
“There has to be a way to identify these issues and Seller should be able to be held accountable where they have downplayed or not given a full picture.
“I do believe that the Buyer’s have potential merit to their claim if they have sufficient evidence to show the problem and the impact as well as their reliance on the reply.
“However, this is on the basis that the reply was provided without any caveat or limitation on the Seller’s knowledge of the same.
“Both Sellers and Buyers rely on their solicitors to advise in these types of situations (including how much reliance a buyer will and is entitled to place on the reply provided) and the question is whether the advice given by the solicitor was incorrect and if so, will the Seller then have a claim against them for any loss caused by this advice.”
Lawyers for seller, William Woodward-Fisher, are fighting the High Court claim and say the moth presence in the house has been blown out of proportion and could be just the “base level” seen in other London houses.
“It is possible when reading some of the evidence in this case to imagine being inside the property like being in an insect house at a zoo,” said his barrister Jonathan Seitler KC.
