Next week Nicholas Trompeter KC and Chris de Beneducci, instructed by Julian Johnstone of Druces LLP, will be appearing before the Court of Appeal in London Trocadero (2015) LLP v. Picturehouse Cinemas Limited & ors.
The case concerns Picturehouse’s flagship venue in central London. Picturehouse claims that it was not obliged to pay rent in respect of those periods during lockdown when it was illegal to open the premises. Nicholas and Chris will be representing the respondent landlord, following Nicholas’ success at first instance.
The outcome will have 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 has been listed in The Lawyer’s ‘Top 10’ appeals of 2022 and is being heard by a panel led by the Chancellor of the High Court, Sir Julian Flaux, in view of its legal and practical significance.