Aslam Abbas v Shabir Hussain & Ors
[2023] EWHC 2322 (Ch)
Timothy Holmes v Christopher Dowing & Ors
6 August 2024
[2024] EWHC 2018 (Comm)
High Court
A property helper sued for unpaid fees. The judge believed emails and other early records more than the people involved. The helper won the case for one property because clear records showed the agreement, but lost for another property because there wasn't enough proof of an agreement.
Key Facts
- •Timothy Holmes (Claimant), a property intermediary, claimed £900,000 from Christopher Downing (First Defendant) and the estate of Meyrick Cox (deceased, represented by Second and Third Defendants) for services rendered in acquiring properties CB161 and CB182.
- •CB161: A portfolio of 161 properties acquired for £8,250,000.
- •CB182: An apartment block in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
- •The Claimant alleged oral agreements for fees related to both acquisitions.
- •Defendants denied the claims, disputing the existence and terms of the agreements.
- •The trial involved six days of evidence and numerous procedural issues.
- •Witness credibility played a central role in the Judge's decision-making.
Legal Principles
Contract interpretation should not consider facts known only to one party.
Arnold v Britton [2015] UKSC 36
Difference between independent and dependent promises.
Chitty on Contracts, 35th edition, paragraph 25-025
In commercial cases, contemporaneous documentary evidence is preferred to oral evidence.
Blue v Ashley [2017] EWHC 1928 (Comm)
Principles regarding estate agent fees (analogous to the case).
Foxtons Ltd v Bicknell & Anr [2008] EWCA Civ 419, Glentree Estates Ltd v Holbeton Ltd [2011] EWCA Civ 755, and Chitty, 35th Ed.
Principles regarding agents.
Bowstead & Reynolds on Agency, 23rd Ed (paragraphs 1-001(1), (2), (4) and 1-020)
If a party wishes to submit that a witness's evidence should not be accepted, that party must challenge that evidence in cross-examination.
Phipson on Evidence, 20th Ed. at paragraph 12-12; Rahme v Smith & Williamson Trust Corporation Ltd [2009] EWHC 911 (Ch)
Outcomes
Judgment for the Claimant for £700,000 concerning CB161.
Contemporaneous documents and the credible witness testimony supported the Claimant's assertion of a fixed fee of £700,000 for CB161, despite conflicting oral evidence and the Defendants' claims of deductions.
Claim dismissed concerning CB182.
The Claimant failed to prove the existence of a contract for CB182 due to lack of credible evidence; inconsistent testimony regarding the date of the alleged agreement; and the absence of corroborating documentation.