A billionaire’s daughter and her husband have told how their £32million mansion became like a scene from horror film Alien due to an invasion of moths.
Iya Patarkatsishvili and Dr Yevhen Hunyak have spoken out after winning a High Court battle against an ex-Team GB rower who sold them the property in Notting Hill, west London.
The couple sued the seller of their luxury London home for not telling them about the moths they say ruined their clothes, spoiled their wine and forced them to install 400 traps around their house.
High-end property developer William Woodward-Fisher has now been told by a judge he must take back the home and refund the couple after the long-running court fight.
Mr Justice Fancourt, ruling at London’s High Court last week, found Mr Woodward-Fisher had given ‘false’ answers about the state of the sumptuous Horbury Villa in Notting Hill and failed ‘honestly to disclose’ the ‘serious infestation’ of moths.
The winning couple have now spoken publicly for the first time since the judgment, laying bare their ordeal – with Dr Hunyak saying of the 11,000 sq ft, seven-bedroom, 11-bathroom home: ‘It was crawling with larvae.
‘You know that movie Alien? When they were trying to work out where the aliens were, and they were actually behind the walls. It was like that.’
His wife Ms Patarkatsishvili, a theatre director and human rights activist, said one worker on the property suffered a panic attack when confronted by the pest problem.
Iya Patarkatsishvili bought a home in Notting Hill, west London, with her husband Dr Yevhen Hunyak in May 2019 – which was plagued by a ‘moth infestation’
The couple bought the property from William Woodward-Fisher, pictured here outside the High Court in London – and have now spoken out after winning their long-running legal battle
The couple sued the seller of their luxury London home (pictured) for not telling them about the moths they say ruined their clothes, spoiled their wine and forced them to install 400 traps
She told the Sunday Times the contractor ‘couldn’t work once he pulled back the wall and there were so many moths in the wool’, adding: ‘It’s just disgusting. So he left and said he couldn’t do it.’
Ms Patarkatsishvili, the daughter of a billionaire Georgian oligarch, had bought the luxury mansion with her dentist husband in May 2019.
They paid £32.5million for the early Victorian pile, which boasted a pool and spa, gym, wine room, library and cinema, and also a ‘snoring room’ specially kitted to guarantee a peaceful night’s sleep.
But a few days after they moved in, Ms Patarkatsishvili spotted the first signs of a winged ‘infestation’, telling her husband: ‘There’s a moth flying around here’.
The couple told in court of having to swat away 100 moths a day, prompting them to launch a multi-million-pound claim against Mr Woodward-Fisher, 68, who is a former champion rower and competed for Great Britain.
Suing to reverse the sale, Dr Hunyak told how the the moth plague hit a point where insects were landing on the couple and their two children’s toothbrushes, cutlery and plates of food.
He also described having to tip away glasses of wine after discovering moths floating there – while accusing Mr Woodward-Fisher of failing to disclose previous moth issues when answering pre-sale enquiries about the possibility of ‘vermin’ and defects.
Mr Justice Fancourt ruled in the suing couple’s favour last Monday, finding that they had been led into the purchase by Mr Woodward-Fisher’s ‘false’ answers about the state of the property.
The couple, pictured here in their Notting Hill home, say the source of the moth scourge was the destructive insects nesting in the wool insulation behind walls and ceilings
William Woodward-Fisher and wife Kerry outside London’s High Court
He said Mr Woodward-Fisher had failed ‘honestly to disclose’ the ‘serious infestation’ and reports concerning work required on the insulation where the moths had nested.
Although he had not been deliberately trying to deceive the purchasers, he ‘simply wanted to sell the house and move on’ and knew disclosure would cause the sale to ‘go off.’
The judge made an order rescinding the sale, with Mr Woodward-Fisher having to pay back the £32.5million purchase price, less about £6million to recognise their use of the property since the purchase.
However, they will also receive about £4million in additional damages in relation to the infestation, including £15,000 for ruined clothes and the £3.7million they paid in Stamp Duty – taking the value of their payout to around £30million.
During the trial of the claim last year, the judge heard that Mr Woodward-Fisher bought the site in 2011 and lived there with interior designer wife Kerry, 64.
The mansion was extended and radically remodelled by Mr Woodward-Fisher to about 11,000 sq ft, before it was sold on to Dr Hunyak, 50, and Ms Patarkatsishvili, 41, in 2019.
Dr Hunyak is a paediatric dentist who practises in Chelsea, while his wife is daughter of Badri Patarkatsishvili, a Georgian businessman who fell out with Vladimir Putin and set up home in the UK in 2000 before dying of heart failure in 2008.
They moved in with their daughter, now 16, 14-year-old son and labrador Loki – after ‘years searching for the perfect home’, according to the Sunday Times.
Iya Patarkatsishvili shared photos appearing to be inside the couple’s Notting Hill property on Instagram, including this one showing her dentist husband Dr Yevhen Hunyak
The couple, who previously rented a property in nearby Marble Arch having moved from Moscow to London in 2008, say they never spotted any moths issues during several visits to the Notting Hill home before buying.
But they have told of spotting the insects within days of moving in and unpacking – and Ms has also now recalled having ’embarrassing situations’ with guests.
She added: ‘Not only has it damaged clothes, but it was in the food cupboards – our son went to get some cereal, and larvae were in there, so we had to put everything in containers. It’s just absolutely disgusting.’
The couple say they spent more than £270,000 trying to tackle the issues, including pulling back walls and excavating ceilings, while being told by pest control firms that the problems had been raised before.
They are now looking for a new home elsewhere, last week viewing a potential property not far away near Hyde Park.
Mr Woodward-Fisher denied all claims, insisting that he gave honest and full replies on the pre-sale enquiries form, and that as far as he knew any previous moth problems had been eliminated by the time of the move.
Giving his judgment, Mr Justice Fancourt said Dr Hunyak had at times ‘exaggerated’ the extent of ongoing problems, but found that Mr Woodward-Fisher had given ‘false’ answers in the pre-contract questions.
‘I do not find that he was consciously trying to deceive the claimants,’ the judge said.
Dr Hunyak (pictured outside the High Court) compared the moth plague to horror movie Alien
Giving judgment last week, Mr Justice Fancourt said Dr Hunyak had at times ‘exaggerated’ the extent of ongoing problems but found that Mr Woodward-Fisher had given ‘false’ answers
‘He simply wanted to sell the house and move on. As he admitted in cross-examination, disclosure of the infestation would likely have caused the sale to go off, and he would have been left needing to move out of the house and do expensive works to remove all the woollen insulation.
‘In my judgment, Mr Woodward-Fisher was hoping that the problem might have gone away and he was willing to take the risk that he was wrong about that.
‘He stated that he was unaware of any defect in the property that was not apparent on inspection…that was false, because the infested condition of the insulation in the floor voids and internal walls of the house was such a defect.’
The judge said the decision meant Mr Woodward-Fisher would now have to sell the property again and pay back the couple’s money from the proceeds.
A spokeswoman for Woodward-Fisher told the Sunday Times that he ‘strongly disputes the claims being reported regarding the recent High Court judgment’.
She said: ‘Whilst respecting the court’s findings, it is essential to clarify several points.
‘Mr Woodward-Fisher believes he acted in good faith and relied on legal advice during the sale process. He used a professionally recommended, warrantied moth-proof insulation.
‘Claims that the living space was ‘crawling with moths’ do not reflect the evidence or findings during the trial and appear designed to sensationalise the issue.
Iya Patarkatsishvili is the daughter of Badri Patarkatsishvili, a Georgian businessman who fell out with Vladimir Putin and set up home in the UK in 2000 before dying of heart failure in 2008
‘Expert testimony confirmed that the infestation was primarily hidden behind walls in the insulation and was not readily visible.
‘The argument over whether moths are ‘vermin’ reflects a technical and subjective legal interpretation.
‘Mr Woodward-Fisher’s understanding was supported by legal advice at the time, and he was entitled to rely on this.
‘The court acknowledged that the claimants resided in and made extensive use of the property for nearly six years, as reflected in the judgment’s financial adjustments.
‘This undermines the claims about the property’s condition.
‘Mr Woodward-Fisher intends to seek permission to appeal.’
