The Court of Appeal have handed down judgment in Bank of New York Mellon (International) Ltd v Cine-UK Ltd [2022] EWCA Civ 1021 (27 July 2022). The appeal was heard by a panel led by the Chancellor of the High Court, Sir Julian Flaux, in view of its legal and practical significance. The Court of Appeal was unanimous in holding that there was no failure of the basis upon which rent was due.
The case concerned Picturehouse’s flagship venue in central London. Picturehouse claimed that it was not obliged to pay rent in respect of those periods during lockdown when it was illegal to open the premises. Nicholas Trompeter QC and Chris de Beneducci represented the successful respondent landlord, following Nicholas’ success at first instance.
This outcome will be welcome news for commercial landlords. The case has wide-ranging implications, not only in the landlord and tenant context, but in any case where it is said that there has been a failure of the basis upon which a contract has been entered into.
The appeal was listed in The Lawyer’s ‘Top 10’ appeals of 2022.
Nicholas Trompeter QC and Chris de Beneducci represented the successful landlord, instructed by Julian Johnstone of Druces LLP.