Couple to hand back £32.5m mansion after discovering it’s infested with moths
A couple who purchased a £32.5 million mansion in west London have won a High Court ruling allowing them to return the property and reclaim most of their money after discovering a severe moth infestation.
Iya Patarkatsishvili, 41, and Dr Yevhen Hunyak, 51, successfully sued the mansion’s former owner, William Woodward-Fisher, 68, after the court found he had misled them by failing to disclose the infestation before the sale.
The couple moved into Horbury Villa in Ladbroke Grove in May 2019, only to find moths in their wine glasses, toothbrushes, and clothes, many of which had to be thrown away.
The infestation, embedded in the property’s insulation, had been documented in multiple pest control reports prior to the sale, but Woodward-Fisher had denied any knowledge of vermin or hidden defects, the BBC reports.
He later claimed he had been advised that moths were not considered vermin.
High Court Judge Mr Justice Fancourt ruled in the couple’s favour, allowing them to return the property while deducting an amount for the years they lived there.
They were also awarded substantial damages, including compensation for stamp duty, extermination costs, and £15,000 for ruined clothing.
Ms Patarkatsishvili, a theatre director, is the daughter of the late Georgian businessman Badri Patarkatsishvili, who was once the wealthiest man in the country with an estimated fortune of $12 billion.
He passed away in Surrey in 2008 at the age of 52, and Forbes valued his wealth at £9.69 billion at the time.
After his death, a family representative stated that half of his fortune would be inherited by his wife, while the rest would be divided between his children and mother.
By 2012, the family’s remaining assets were reported to be worth at least £2.4 billion, according to a Financial Times report.
Dr Hunyak, meanwhile, is the founder of a private dental group specialising in children’s care in west London.
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