The landlord of a 1930s industrial and office building in Welwyn Garden City that was awarded more than £1m in dilapidations and interest has won the lion’s share of its legal costs after it beat a settlement offer by less than £4,000.
In May, Ramsey J ruled that Saint–Gobain Ceramics and Plastics Limited must pay £900,000 in dilapidations to reflect the difference between the value of the property, known as the Norton Building, in repair, calculated as more than £3m, and the development value of the site, assessed at £2.1m. Together with interest the total sum awarded was £1,058,768.
He rejected a claim by landlord Hammersmatch Properties (Welwyn) Limited that Saint–Gobain should pay the full cost of repairs, which he said would be higher than the value of the property in repair of £3,061,251.
But Saint-Gobain said that, in its first schedule of dilapidations in December 2008, Hammersmatch claimed £7,676,476 while, in December 2011, it offered to pay £1m.
As a result, it claimed that Hammersmatch should recover as little as 40 per cent of its legal costs.
However, the judge said that, when interest up to the date of offer was taken into account, Hammersmatch beat it by £3,637.
Though he acknowledged that “represents a very small percentage of the sum offered”, he ruled that Hammersmatch should recover 80 per cent of its costs.
He said that he did not consider that either side was guilty of unreasonable conduct, nor that Hammersmatch’s claim based on the schedule of dilapidations was exaggerated.
He said: “In the end, by a process of negotiation and determination, the court came to a figure closer to that put forward by Saint-Gobain. However that does not mean that Hammersmatch exaggerated the claim.”
He ordered Saint-Gobain to pay Hammersmatch 80% of its costs to be assessed on a standard basis, if not agreed.
Saint–Gobain, then known as Norton Abrasives, formerly owned the freehold of the Norton Building, which comprises a four–storey East Wing and a two–storey West Wing, until it transferred it and took a lease–back in 1984. Hammersmatch became sole landlord in 1987. Saint–Gobain vacated the site in 2003, since which time it has stood empty.
Hammersmatch Properties (Welwyn) Ltd v Saint–Gobain Ceramics and Plastics Ltd and anr Technology and Construction (Ramsey J) 24 July 2013
Judith Jackson QC (instructed by Thomas Eggar LLP) for the Claimant
Nicholas Dowding QC & Elizabeth Fitzgerald (instructed by Shulmans LLP) for the Defendants
