Iya Patarkatsishvili and Dr Yevhen Hunyak sued the seller of their luxury London home for not telling them about the moths, which ruined their clothes and spoiled their wine.
A super-rich couple have won the right to hand back a £32.5million mansion they bought after it turned out to be 'infested by millions of moths'.
Iya - the daughter of a billionaire Georgian oligarch - bought the luxury mansion with her dentist husband in May 2019, having forked out £32.5million for the early Victorian pile, which boasts a pool and spa, gym, wine room, library and cinema, and also a 'snoring room' specially kitted to guarantee a peaceful night's sleep.
Iya Patarkatsishvili bought a home in Notting Hill, west London, with her husband Dr Yevhen Hunyak in May 2019 - which was plagued by a 'moth infestation' Today, giving judgment, Mr Justice Fancourt ruled in the couple's favour, finding that they had been led into the purchase by Mr Woodward-Fisher's 'false' answers about the state of the property.
However, they will also receive about £4million in additional damages in relation to the infestation, including £15,000 for ruined clothes and the £3.7million they paid in Stamp Duty - taking the value of their payout to around £30million. The couple, pictured here in their Notting Hill home, say the source of the moth scourge was the destructive insects nesting in the wool insulation behind walls and ceilings
But despite their careful inspection, the couple said they were dismayed when they were hit with what one insect specialist called 'an infestation of extreme proportions…amounting to millions of moths' in their deluxe house. In their claim, Dr Hunyak and his wife asked the judge to reverse the house sale on the basis of alleged 'fraudulent misrepresentation' so that they get their £32.5m purchase money back, plus compensation for other losses.
Mr Seitler also noted that his client now simply 'can't afford to re-purchase the property' and alleged that the claimants, while 'fastidious about moths', had 'neglected' the house which he spent so long restoring. Reports by pest control company Environ before the sale had said the 'only way properly to deal with the problem was to remove all the affected insulation,' continued the judge, with Mr Woodward-Fisher being fully aware that would mean extensive work.
Read More Couple suing for £36m over moth infestation 'accused of portraying home as like zoo's insect house' 'That work was needed to eradicate a defect, namely the presence of contaminated insulation that would cause a continuing problem for any occupier of the house. 'They had been looking for the right property for years. He said that if there had been no misrepresentation, and the enquiries were not answered fully, a red flag would have been called on the proposed purchase, and in those circumstances they would not have proceeded without an answer to the enquiries.'
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