Moth Infestation Causes Legal Battle Between Millionaire Residents in London

london - A moth infestation in a luxurious mansion in Notting Hill, London, has led to a legal battle between the current residents and the previous owner.

When Iya Patarkatsishvili first laid eyes on Horbury Villa in April 2018, she knew she had to have it. The enormous Victorian villa in stylish Notting Hill, London, comes with its own spa, pool, wine room, cinema, library, and even a special 'snore room' for a good night's sleep.

However, Iya, 41, and her husband, pediatrician Yevhen Hunyak, 50, wanted to be absolutely certain. With a price tag of 32.5 million British pounds, this was not a decision to be taken lightly.

Over the following 13 months, the couple - along with their staff - visited the property 11 more times, meticulously inspecting everything from drainage pumps to any potential disturbances from a nearby pub. They even brought a sound technician along on one visit.

Ultimately, in May 2019, they were satisfied and moved in with their two children, Adrian and Amelia.

Initially, life at Horbury Villa seemed to be the idyllic existence they had hoped for. But then came the first moth. And another, and another. The owner claims in a heated lawsuit that life at the villa has now become a nightmare, with her and her husband killing at least a hundred moths daily. 'They are everywhere. They are eating my expensive clothes and even nesting in the children's toothbrushes or floating in the soup. Nothing helps. The insect exterminators can't cope.'

The moths and their eggs are said to be residing in the woolen wall coverings that adorn the entire house. Removing these wall coverings, according to the billionaire's daughter, would be the only solution. But this way out is also costly: 9.7 million British pounds, or 11.6 million euros.

In evidence submitted to the High Court this week, the couple, per DailyMail, claim to have dealt with a 'plague of massive proportions'. Their designer clothing had to be packed in hermetically sealed bags to protect the garments from the insects. Moths had already devoured clothing worth 50,000 pounds. 'This was much more extreme than a typical moth infestation in a domestic setting,' said the couple's lawyer, John McGhee KC, to the court this week. 'At night, moths flew around like someone was using a screen, carpets and furniture became damaged, numerous clothing items were eaten, moths ended up in wine and food, and on cutlery and toothbrushes.'

Iya, the daughter of the late Georgian billionaire Badri Patarkatsishvili, and her husband Yevhen are requesting the court to annul the sale of their house based on alleged 'misrepresentation' by the previous owner.

On the other side of this unpleasant conflict is William Woodward-Fisher, 68, a prominent real estate developer and former British rower, whose team participated in the 1977 World Rowing Championships in Amsterdam.

William and his 64-year-old wife Kerry purchased Horbury Villa in 2011, previously owned by actor and writer Martin Starkie, and embarked on renovations worth 10 million British pounds (almost 12 million euros), including tripling the area to around 3300 square meters and constructing a luxury basement, before moving in 2013.

During the construction, they installed woolen insulation, which - although unbeknownst to them at the time - would later become a very expensive problem. In 2018, Kerry, an interior designer, suffered from 'clothes moths.' The couple enlisted pest controllers to deal with the moths. These professionals worked so extensively on the property that the couple - along with their dog - had to temporarily relocate and stay in a nearby hotel.

In July of that year, their lawyer informed the court, 'It was found that they had succeeded in their task' - and there was no visible moth problem at the time of the sale.

William states that he has never had issues with moths. If it weren't for his wife, he would have never felt the need to do anything. 'If there is a moth problem now,' he says, 'Iya and Yevhen are to blame. They neglected the villa he worked on for so long and resorted to small-scale solutions like traps and sprays from the Amazon website, instead of opting for effective pest control.'

William's lawyer also questioned the absence of photos of the alleged 'infestation.' 'Only five sheets of evidence were submitted - including photos of a tracksuit, a shirt with holes, and a moth-damaged suit.'

The crux of this legal debate lies in a pre-sale form, standard in every English house sale. William and Kerry completed this form in February 2019. One of the questions on the form asked the Woodward-Fishers if there had been a previous 'pest infestation' on the property. They answered 'no.' William says that at the time, he informed his lawyer about the moth concerns, but was assured that 'moths are not pests and, therefore, not relevant to this investigation.' And that, to him, settled the matter.

Now, nearly five years later, he is being accused of negligence or, at worst, fraudulent misrepresentation for not disclosing previous pest issues during the sale.

Moths are notorious in Notting Hill. The streets are lined with large Victorian terraced houses with dark nooks where they can lay their eggs and breed. A neighbor of the billionaire couple says moths are 'endemic' to this part of the capital. 'We had a moth infestation,' she says. 'The carpets were brand new, but because they weren't treated, the insects swarmed.'