A WINE tycoon has won a fight with his neighbour who sued him for refusing to put up CURTAINS at his ￡3.2m flat.

       Meghdad Farrokhzad blasted Rollo Gabb over claims he breached rules about what kind of curtains and floor coverings he could have at home.

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       Meghdad Farrokhzad said Rollo Gabb had broken the curtain rules Credit: Champion News 3

       Rollo Gabb won ￡9,500 costs Credit: Champion News Service Ltd

       A High Court judge ruled Mr Farrokhzad was being "difficult for the sake of it" and awarded Mr Gabb ￡10,000.

       The wine importer is trying to flog the ￡3.2million property and could win thousands more if it does not sell for the asking price.

       Judge Simon Gleeson said Mr Farrokhzad's could be liable to pay the difference as well as any further costs incurred after his actions impacted the sale.

       Mr Gabb, 50, bought the luxury three-storey flat in 2007 and agreed to follow the lease - which puts limits on the property's decorations.

       Rules said the property in posh Kensington, West London, had to be carpeted and "properly curtained in a style appropriate to a high-class private residence".

       Mr Farrokhzad, 41, claimed Mr Gabb, 50, forfeited his right to the lease due after the wine boss put up wooden shutters on some of his windows.

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       Mr Gabb is head of South African vineyard Journey's End and is part of a family wine dynasty which founded high street booze brands including Kumala.

       His celebrated Stellenbosch region bottles are carried by Waitrose, M&S and Sainsbury's,

       Judge Simon Gleeson said: "Even in commercial contracts between sophisticated parties, it is by no means unknown for the human trait of being difficult for the sake of it to emerge... I am strongly of the view that that is the case here."

       Mr Gabb claimed his downstairs neighbour launched a campaign to try and thwart his attempts to sell the apartment.

       It was said Mr Farrokhzad informed prospective buyers they would be liable for all or part of an impending ￡388,000 repair bill to the "common parts" of the building.

       The court heard the flat shared almost no "common parts" with its downstairs neighbour.

       Mr Gabb raged Mr Farrokhzad had behaved unreasonably in blocking his attempts to sell the flat - causing one multi-million-pound sale to fall through and put another at risk.

       Joanne Wicks QC, for Mr Gabb, told Judge Gleeson: "The campaign against Mr Gabb commenced with a solicitors’ letter sent on Christmas Eve 2020 received out of the blue, contending that (he) was in breach of the covenants of the lease by virtue of installing wood flooring (and) failing to 'properly curtain' windows.

       "Mr Gabb has been seeking to sell the flat since the autumn of 2020 but, apparently motivated by a desire to purchase the flat himself and or anger at Mr Gabb's objections to the grant of a late-night alcohol licence, Mr Farrokhzad has been determined to do all he can to thwart a sale.

       "He reasonably fears that Mr Farrokhzad's behaviour is rendering the flat completely unsellable."

       FLAT OUT

       Mr Farrokhzad acquired the freehold of the building at the same time he purchased an art gallery beneath Mr Gabb's flat in 2020.

       The pair first clashed after Mr Gabb opposed his plans to turn the ground floor unit into a licensed sushi bar.

       Mr Farrokhzad said Mr Gabb had broken the curtain rules and tried to sue him at a tribunal, but lost his case in April last year.

       Andrew Butler QC, for Mr Farrokhzad, denied he had behaved unreasonably.

       Judge Gleeson awarded Mr Gabb approximately ￡9,500 for costs following attempted sales of his flat.

       He warned Mr Farrokhzad that if the apartment fails to sell for at least ￡3.2m, he could be "liable to pay to Mr Gabb the difference between the two prices, along with any further costs incurred".

       Judge Gleeson said: "The work identified...would have a total cost of ￡388,237.61 may well be correct in respect of the work which it describes – I do not have the benefit of expert evidence on the point, and am therefore not a position to say.

       "However, that work seems to be completely unrelated to any potential liability of the incoming tenant.

       "I therefore consider that Mr Farrokhzad’s conduct in having a document prepared on this basis and then representing it as a potential liability of the incoming tenant was unreasonable.

       "This is an appropriate result for two reasons.

       "One is that it ensures that any long term devaluation of the property resulting from Mr Farrokhzad’s actions will come out of his own pocket.

       "The other is that he is now very powerfully incentivised to ensure that the existing transaction completes as quickly as possible."

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       Rollo Gabb's apartment in plush Kensington, west London Credit: Champion News Service Ltd