Rupert Cohen wins widely reported “Versace-designed luxury flat” dispute

HHJ Johns KC handed down judgment last week in a case which has been widely reported concerning the right of a purchaser of an “off-plan” apartment to a return of their approximately £400,000 deposit.

The issues in the dispute were whether, in circumstances in which the developer had changed the lay-out of the apartment: (i) the contract for sale entitled the purchaser to a return of her deposit; (ii) any of those terms were “unfair” pursuant to the Consumer Rights Act 2015; (iii) if the answer to (i) and (ii) were “no”, standard condition of sale 7.1.1 permitted the developer to retain the deposit.

HHJ Johns KC rejected the purchaser’s case holding that the change in layout made no material difference to the value of the apartment and, in refusing to complete the purchase, her deposit was forfeit.

The trial was widely reported in the Daily Mail, Daily Telegraph and The Times.

Rupert Cohen was instructed by Jeremy Stephen at Clyde & Co.