After purchasing a lavish mansion in London for a whopping £32,500,000 ($40,200,000), a couple has been granted the opportunity by a court to return the property and recover most of their expenses. The reason behind this unexpected turn of events? The house was discovered to be infested with a large colony of moths.
Nestled on a serene street just outside Notting Hill, Horbury Villa appeared to be the quintessential northwest London abode with its imposing Victorian exterior. However, beneath the grand facade lurked a troublesome infestation of moths residing within the insulation, causing widespread damage throughout the property, which boasted luxurious amenities such as a pool, spa, gym, cinema, and wine room.
Iya Patarkatsishvili, the daughter of a wealthy Georgian magnate, and her husband Yevhen Hunyak acquired the residence in May 2019 from William Woodward-Fisher, a seasoned surveyor and residential real estate developer as disclosed in the judgement released on Monday.
Upon moving in, the couple was shocked to find moths invading their personal items such as toothbrushes, towels, and wine glasses. The pests even wreaked havoc on their clothing, leading to the disposal of some garments. Hunyak described a daily ritual of exterminating between 10 to 35 moths, a task also undertaken by family members and hired cleaners.
The court ruled in favor of the couple, asserting that Woodward-Fisher had engaged in “fraudulent misrepresentations” and had deliberately concealed a severe clothes moth infestation in the property’s insulation prior to the sale. The judgement summary, released on Monday, revealed that Woodward-Fisher had responded falsely to specific queries regarding the presence of vermin infestation or hidden defects in the house.
According to the judgement, Woodward-Fisher’s wife had initially flagged the issue of clothes moths infestation shortly after the installation of new insulation during extensive renovation works in early 2018. Pest control specialists were brought in to address the problem, and emails regarding the infestation were forwarded to Woodward-Fisher by his wife.
Justice Fancourt, in his ruling, suggested that Woodward-Fisher did not have a malicious intent to deceive the buyers but was merely eager to sell the property and move on. In addition to refunding most of the purchase amount to Patarkatsishvili and Hunyak, with a deduction for the period of their residence, Fancourt also awarded them significant damages and reimbursed all expenses incurred in attempting to eradicate the moth infestation.
