A Court of Appeal dispute over a landlord’s refusal to consent to the subletting of retail premises in Edgware has been delayed by a ruling that fresh evidence must be admitted.
In May 2002, Central London County Court ruled that property company Arundel Corporation had unreasonably withheld consent to the underletting of the ground-floor shop at 37 Watling Avenue, Burnt Oak, Edgware, London HA8, by tenant Mohammed Khokher to proposed subtenant Nadeem Chaudhry.
The judge found that refusal of consent caused Chaudhry to withdraw from the proposal and resulted in a loss of profit for Khokher assessed at £11,021.92.
Arundel commenced an appeal last month, but the hearing has been delayed because the Appeal Court has allowed fresh evidence to be adduced.
Mummery LJ said that the new documents alone were sufficient to raise a prima facie case that, contrary to the case advanced by Khokher at the trial and accepted by the judge, no counternotice was served on Arundel by Khokher or his lawyers.
He said that this meant that there are “substantial questions that require investigation” into the authenticity of the counternotice produced in evidence at trial and in respect of the truthfulness of evidence given about the service of the counternotice.
The hearing of the appeal has been adjourned.
Khokher v Arundel Corporation Court of Appeal (Mummery and Keene LJJ) 9 April 2003.
References: PLS News 9/4/03
