A COUNTRY estate owner who sued over a leaky sports car that filled with water when it rained has won a £118,000 court battle with the seller.
Alison Kynaston-Mainwaring, 49, said the "catastrophic" leak had destroyed the electrics in her car, rendering it almost worthless.
Mrs Kynaston-Mainwaring, a keen dressage rider who runs an equestrian centre on her estate, bought the Mercedes AMG GTC Roadster in August 2018.
She splashed out £122,000 for the luxury two-door convertible.
But the first time she left parked outside of her garage, Mrs Kynaston-Mainwaring was stunned to find the car's footwell full of rainwater.
She then sued the seller, luxury car retailer GVE London Ltd, and has now won a £118,334 payout from top judges at the Court of Appeal.
Lord Justice Phillips backed an earlier decision that the particular car Mrs Kynaston-Mainwaring received was not of "satisfactory quality."
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However, he said the court's finding did not mean that the problem was "inherent" in GTC convertibles.
Along with her husband, Mrs Kynaston-Mainwaring is the owner of the Hardwick Hall estate in Shropshire, which has a Grade-II listed early Georgian house at its centre.
The Hall, built in 1720, has three storeys and a cellar, with villas flanking both the south and north sides.
The extravagant country estate also features parkland to the south and a lake to the north.
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It was also the birthplace of notorious Shropshire Highwayman, Wild Humphrey Kynaston.
In his judgment, Lord Justice Phillips said that, after buying the car, Mrs Kynaston-Mainwaring had kept it locked up in a specially-modified garage at her home.
It was only left outside for a few days in November 2019 and, on November 22, when she went to move it, she found the footwell full of water.
The leakage caused extensive damage to electrical components and wiring and experts later said it was rendered worth only around £8,500.
Mrs Kynaston-Mainwaring sued GVE London at the High Court in Manchester and, in March this year, was awarded a £118,334 payout.
The sum comprised a refund of the purchase price, less £5,000 for her use of the car, plus damages totaling £1,334.
At the High Court, Judge Richard Pearce heard that the problem with the car was a blockage in a drainage channel from the roof, which had caused rainwater to overflow into the footwell.
He found there was no reason to suspect that the channel had not been cleared when the car was serviced in May 2018 or when delivered to Mrs Kynaston-Mainwaring in September 2018.
However, in February 2019, there had been "misting" in the car and, in April 2019, a mechanic who looked at it found "dampness to the carpet" on the floor.
GVE claimed that the problem was caused because the drainage channel had not been cleared when the car was serviced by a Mercedes-Benz dealer before it was delivered to Mrs Kynaston-Mainwaring.
However, the judge found it was more likely that the channel would have been cleared, as that was standard practice, and that Mrs Kynaston-Mainwaring's particular car must not have been "of satisfactory quality."
Appealing, lawyers for GVE London argued that the judge's finding that the channel had been cleared in May 2019 was based on "flawed reasoning and, to some extent, speculation."
Ruling on the appeal, Lord Justice Phillips said GVE's claim was "plausible," but that was not enough to overturn the earlier decision.
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He said the result of the case had no "wider implication," since there was nothing to suggest that the GTE model itself has any "inherent defect."
Lord Justice Snowden and Lord Justice Green agreed with his ruling and GVE London's appeal against the £118,334 award was dismissed.
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