An accountant who waged a decade-long parking dispute with his neighbours has lost his final bid to overturn a £160,000 legal battle after claiming toothache prevented him from defending himself in court.
Ivan Soares attempted to reopen his case at the High Court last week, insisting severe dental problems had ruined his defence against neighbours in Harefield, near Uxbridge.
The 55-year-old was previously ordered to pay £60,140 in damages to Manish Kothari and her family for “high-handed, insulting and oppressive” behaviour that included repeatedly boxing in their vehicles.
Judge Graham Wood KC dismissed Soares’ dental treatment excuse, ruling there was “no valid reason” for missing the original trial.
The property in Harefield, near Uxbridge
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The dispute centred on three parking spaces outside the neighbours’ homes in Fallowfield Close where Kothari had purchased his three-bedroom property for £375,000 in 2006.
The Kotharis’ single parking space was awkwardly positioned between Soares’ two spaces, prompting the neighbours to agree a “swap” arrangement.
This initially sensible solution allowed the Kotharis to park their cars together, while the Soares family could park nearest to their house and garage.
However, the arrangement broke down in September 2018 when Soares and his wife Sunita “revoked” the agreement following allegations of inconsiderate parking.
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The entrance to the driveway shared by the pair
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The dispute has since racked up approximately £100,000 in legal fees. In March 2023, Kothari testified she had stopped using their parking space “for fear of being boxed in” by their neighbour.
A police officer called to the scene described Soares’ parking as “selfish and unnecessary” after he reversed within inches of Kothari’s car.
Judge Jane Evans-Gordon ruled that Soares’ behaviour had devalued the Kotharis’ £750,000 home by up to 10 percent.
“When she couldn’t access her car she asked Soares to move his car because she couldn’t get to work, but he said ‘that’s not my problem’,” the judge noted.
The court awarded £60,140 to the Kotharis while also granting them £2,530 in trespass damages for the Soares’ continued use of their space. Multiple injunctions were placed on the Soares family, barring them from blocking their neighbours’ parking space or garage access.
Last week, ten years after the initial dispute began, Soares returned to the High Court seeking to reopen the case .His barrister, Julian Gun Cuninghame, told the court that Soares had been unable to attend the 2023 trial due to severe dental problems that left him unable to eat or speak.
“There genuinely was a tooth issue,” the barrister insisted, explaining his client had flown abroad for urgent treatment.
Judge Wood rejected this argument, stating: “If he was unable to speak he could have written to his solicitors and given them instructions.”
The judge acknowledged the trial outcome might have been different had the Soares attended but concluded: “The question is did Mr Soares apply promptly and have a good reason for not attending the trial, and my answer is no.”