Lease – restaurant premises – building works – tenant’s claims for damages and specific performance – construction where both parties obliged to repair – settlement terms disputed

John Michael Stratton (1) and Muhammad Azeem Khan-Sherwani (2) v Mahesh Shantilal Patel [2014] EWHC 2667 (TCC); [2016] EWHC 2031 (TCC) and [2016] EWHC 2032 (TCC) (Mr ter Haar QC Sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge)

This trilogy of reports could form the basis of a case study and cover a wide number of issues while illustrating how things can go badly wrong when landlord and tenant fall out and entrenched positions are taken, which prevent effective dispute resolution. The case was before the judge on quite a few days over the period 4 February 2014 to 1 July 2016. It appears that on some occasions the argument before the judge was about what arguments the judge should determine. One of the complications concerned works carried out negligently by the landlord’s contractor and the stance taken by the contractor’s insurer.