Royal Albert Corridor seat holders lose £500,000 damages bid

Three seat holders on the Royal Albert Corridor who accused its operator of “unlawfully” depriving them of their rights to seats have misplaced a Excessive Court docket bid for damages.

Arthur George and William and Alexander Stockler, who have been searching for £500,000, declare they’ve been excluded from extra performances than the foundations permit by the Company of the Corridor of Arts and Sciences, referred to as the Royal Albert Corridor (RAH).

Their legal professionals had requested a decide to declare that the follow of excluding them from different performances was illegal and to grant an injunction to cease RAH from limiting their entry past the phrases of the regulation.

Decide Sir Anthony Mann dismissed the bid and dominated the dispute ought to go to trial.

Mr George owns 12 seats in two separate packing containers, and the Stocklers collectively personal 4 seats in a single field.

They requested the decide to rule of their favour with out a trial and award an interim cost of £500,000 in damages, forward of the total quantity being determined, which was opposed by legal professionals for the RAH.

In a written judgement on Tuesday, the decide dismissed the bid and stated: “It could appear to me to be probably unhelpful to have the declaration sought.

“Whether or not any declaration in any respect is justified at a trial, when all of the related points and defences have been canvassed and dominated on, can be a matter for the trial decide.”

Guidelines for seat holders is ruled by the Royal Albert Corridor Act in addition to inside governance.

Sir Anthony added: “The historical past of the matter and its impact must be gone into with a level of thoroughness which solely a trial can present, and a trial is critical as a way to decide the validity of this defence.

“That being the case, I don’t want to contemplate the query of the measure of damages and whether or not an interim award is justified.”

On the listening to earlier this month, David Sawtell, representing Mr George and the Stocklers stated the case was not a “breach of contract case”, however as an alternative involved the “wrongful” use of somebody’s property.

He added: “We are saying, for those who take another person’s property and use it, you might be liable to compensate the property proprietor for that use.”

In written submissions for the company, Simon Taube KC stated the boys who’ve been members of the company since earlier than 2008, had not voted in opposition to the follow till the annual basic assembly in 2023.

He added: “The background to the declare is that lately the claimants’ relations with the company have deteriorated due to the claimants’ complaints about numerous monetary issues.”

Seat and field holders have been a part of the Royal Albert Corridor since they helped fund the development of the Grade I listed venue which was opened by Queen Victoria in 1871.

These traders have been granted rights to make use of or entry their seats for the time period of the corridor’s 999-year lease, in accordance with the venue’s web site.

Some 1,268 seats, out of the corridor’s whole attainable capability of 5,272, stay within the non-public possession of 316 folks. Some seats have been handed down throughout the households of the unique traders.

The seat holders, who’re referred to as members, are entitled to attend two thirds of the performances within the corridor in any 12-month interval, in accordance with Harrods Estates, which manages the sale of the seats and stalls.

A row of 4 stall seats listed as offered had a information worth of £650,000.

Seat holders are “free to do as they please with the tickets allotted to them for his or her seats”, the RAH’s web site stated, which means members can earn an revenue from promoting on their tickets.