Key Takeaways
- • The High Court upheld in full a claim by Iya Patarkatshishvili and Yevhen Hunyak against property developer William Woodward-Fisher over fraudulent misrepresentations about a moth infestation at Horbury Villa in Notting Hill, London, according to Squire Patton Boggs.
- • The claimants were granted rescission of the May 2019 sale of the GBP 32.5 million property, with the seller ordered to repay the purchase price and pay over GBP 10 million in additional damages, interest and legal costs.
- • Squire Patton Boggs partners Chris Webber and Julian Ciecierski-Burns, with director Tim Flamank, led the legal team, as reported by the firm in a March 2025 family office insight.
- • The rescission remedy and the court's rejection of the defendant's objections have drawn wide comment in the UK legal community, and the case received front-page coverage in The Guardian, The Times and the BBC.
Summary
Squire Patton Boggs has secured a win for long-standing family office clients in a high-profile London property dispute, according to a firm publication titled "Family Office Insights," issued in March 2025. The team was led by partners Chris Webber and Julian Ciecierski-Burns and director Tim Flamank, acting for Iya Patarkatshishvili, daughter of the late Georgian businessman Badri Patarkatshishvili, and her husband Yevhen Hunyak.
The claim, Iya Patarkatsishvili and Yehven Hunyak v William Woodward-Fisher, concerned the couple's purchase of Horbury Villa in Notting Hill for GBP 32.5 million in May 2019 from property developer William Woodward-Fisher. According to the firm, the court upheld the claim in full, finding that the defendant made several fraudulent misrepresentations in response to pre-contract enquiries in order to conceal a serious and extensive moth infestation in the property's insulation.
Having been induced to buy by those misrepresentations, the claimants were granted rescission of the sale contract, an unusual remedy. The court ordered the seller to take back the property, repay the GBP 32.5 million purchase price and pay more than GBP 10 million in additional damages, interest and legal costs. The firm said the court rejected the various objections raised by the defendant's legal team, and the approach has drawn widespread comment in the UK legal community. Press coverage included The Guardian, The Times and the BBC.
The firm presented the outcome as reinforcing its reputation for high-stakes disputes involving high net worth individuals and family offices in UK and international courts. Its published list of recent family office matters includes advice on claims over the mismanagement of a circa US$1 billion private equity fund, claims against a Lebanese bank following de facto currency controls, and advice on failed fintech investments that entered special administration in the UK.
The claim, Iya Patarkatsishvili and Yehven Hunyak v William Woodward-Fisher, concerned the couple's purchase of Horbury Villa in Notting Hill for GBP 32.5 million in May 2019 from property developer William Woodward-Fisher. According to the firm, the court upheld the claim in full, finding that the defendant made several fraudulent misrepresentations in response to pre-contract enquiries in order to conceal a serious and extensive moth infestation in the property's insulation.
Having been induced to buy by those misrepresentations, the claimants were granted rescission of the sale contract, an unusual remedy. The court ordered the seller to take back the property, repay the GBP 32.5 million purchase price and pay more than GBP 10 million in additional damages, interest and legal costs. The firm said the court rejected the various objections raised by the defendant's legal team, and the approach has drawn widespread comment in the UK legal community. Press coverage included The Guardian, The Times and the BBC.
The firm presented the outcome as reinforcing its reputation for high-stakes disputes involving high net worth individuals and family offices in UK and international courts. Its published list of recent family office matters includes advice on claims over the mismanagement of a circa US$1 billion private equity fund, claims against a Lebanese bank following de facto currency controls, and advice on failed fintech investments that entered special administration in the UK.
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