A high court judge yesterday granted Leeds city council permission to pursue the former chairman of Montpellier Estates, Jan Fletcher, for its legal costs in defending the failed £43.5m Leeds Arena court case.
Mr Justice Supperstone agreed an application from the council to join her into its claim cost against Montpellier, and also issued an order that Fletcher pay interim costs of £2m before 14 November, pending a final decision on the total due.
The application was based on a personal undertaking from Fletcher to cover the costs should Montpellier lose the case and be unable to pay, given to the council in July 2012.
Three months later, her company’s £43.5m claim for damages over not winning the contract to build the arena – with the council closing tendering and taking on the developer role itself – was heard in London.
Montpellier lost the case when Supperstone dismissed its claim in February 2013, and has not yet paid £2m interim costs awarded to the council.
The council then served a winding up petition on the company in July and announced it was still seeking to recover legal costs from Fletcher.
A Leeds council spokeswoman said: “We are pleased that Mr Justice Supperstone has granted this order. As we have stressed previously, we gave MEL and Ms Fletcher every opportunity to meet the interim costs, including agreeing to extend the legal deadline for payment.
“This has left us with no choice but to take this action and we would be failing in our duty to the council tax payers of Leeds if we did not actively pursue these very large costs.”
chris.berkin@estatesgazette.com
