A wealthy couple have won their High Court battle to return a £32.5million London mansion after discovering it was "infested by millions of moths".
Iya Patarkatsishvili and Dr Yevhen Hunyak sued property developer William Woodward-Fisher for failing to disclose a severe moth infestation in the luxury home in Notting Hill.
The couple purchased the early Victorian property in May 2019, complete with pool, spa, gym, wine room, library and cinema.
Justice Fancourt ruled today that Woodward-Fisher had given "false" answers about the state of Horbury Villa and failed to honestly disclose the "serious infestation" of moths.
The family in Notting Hill were forced to swat up to 100 moths daily
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The ruling allows the couple to hand back the property and receive most of their money back, plus damages.
Just days after moving in, Patarkatsishvili spotted the first moth, telling her partner "there's a moth flying around here".
The situation quickly escalated, with the family forced to swat up to 100 moths daily.
Hunyak told the High Court the insects landed on their toothbrushes, cutlery and plates of food.
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The couple even had to tip away glasses of wine after finding moths floating in them.
The infestation was so severe that 400 traps had to be installed throughout the house.
Even after intensive sprays and expert treatment, Dr Hunyak still maintains a daily kill count of up to 35 moths.
The source of the infestation was traced to moths nesting in wool insulation behind walls and ceilings.
The judge found that while Woodward-Fisher had not deliberately tried to deceive the buyers, he "simply wanted to sell the house and move on".
Justice Fancourt said the seller knew disclosure would likely cause the sale to "go off", leaving him needing to move out and complete expensive works.
The court heard that pest control company Environ had warned before the sale that removing all affected insulation was "the only way properly to deal with the problem".
This would have required a four to six-month project of works, the judge noted.
Under the ruling, Woodward-Fisher must refund the £32.5m purchase price, though this will be reduced by about £6m to account for the couple's use of the property
Wikimedia CommonsWoodward-Fisher was "hoping that the problem might have gone away and he was willing to take the risk that he was wrong about that", Justice Fancourt concluded.
Under the ruling, Woodward-Fisher must refund the £32.5m purchase price, though this will be reduced by about £6m to account for the couple's use of the property.
The couple will receive approximately £4m in additional damages related to the infestation.
This includes £3.7m to cover their Stamp Duty payment and £15,000 for ruined clothes.
The total payout amounts to around £30m.
Woodward-Fisher will now need to sell the property again to pay back the money owed to the couple.
The judge dismissed concerns that the ruling would force all sellers to disclose minor moth issues, stating this case involved "an infestation of extreme proportions...amounting to millions of moths".
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