Banker hit with $377k bill over ‘extraordinary’ dust

A luxury London renovation has ended in a six-figure headache, with a former Goldman Sachs banker facing a hefty legal bill after sparking a neighbourhood feud.

When Leda Sara purchased her £1.6 million ($3,022,712) flat in the luxurious area of Knightsbridge, she planned a total overhaul. What followed was half a decade of disruption for the couple living directly below.

Samuel Wagner and his wife, Jennifer, claimed the five-year, stop-start process resulted in “extraordinary” levels of dust that filtered through ceilings and cracks.

The dust was so relentless that they said they couldn’t even dry laundry inside their own home.

The works, which stripped the upstairs apartment back to a bare shell, allegedly involved “incessant” banging that cracked ceilings and left the home below feeling like a construction site.

By the time the matter reached court, the works were far beyond inconvenient, forcing the couple to move out three times: first while the works were being done and again in 2019 and 2020.

The Mayor’s and City County Court heard the renovation began in 2014 but quickly ran into trouble after it was carried out without the required approvals from the building’s freeholder.

The discovery triggered a long pause with the property left partially stripped out above the Wagners’ home.

When work eventually resumed years later, it was meant to be completed within eight months.

Instead, it dragged on, with final sign-off not coming until 2019.

The dispute arose in a Grade-II listed building in Lennox Gardens, one of the most exclusive areas of London.

The luxurious pocket was also reportedly where Diana, Princess of Wales would meet James Gilbey in his apartment during their 1989 romance, as revealed in the notorious “Squidgygate” tapes.

After a trial at the Mayor’s and City County Court, Judge Stephen Hellman found that the delay and the prolonged state of the unfinished flat tipped the situation into legal “nuisance”, reported the Independent.

Hellman said this also exposed the neighbours to “annoyance, inconvenience, discomfort and anxiety” over an extended period.

“During the pause, the incomplete state of the works was a nuisance. It was one for which the defendant was directly responsible, as it was her responsibility to comply with the terms of her lease and obtain necessary authority from the landlord,” he said.

While the court dismissed claims Sara was responsible for leaks including a faulty shower and sprinkler system, it ruled she was liable for how long the works took and the disruption caused.

The couple were awarded more than £40,000 ($75,567) in damages, but it’s the legal costs that sting.

Sara has been ordered to cover 80 per cent of her neighbours’ legal fees, with £91,000 ($171,916) due upfront, bringing the total bill to around £150,000 ($283,379), on top of her own costs.

All up, the drawn-out renovation has left her facing a figure closer to £200,000 ($377,839).