Law firm tax partner facing £400,000 law suit
Martin Paisner of law firm Berwin Leighton Paisner in court battle regarding £2m rare book collection
A Berwin Leighton
Paisner tax partner is being is being sued for £400,000 in relation to an
alleged breach of contract. Martin Paisner, the son of the firm’s founder (who
was also an adviser to prime minister Tony Blair) will be defending a claim
relating to a £2m rare book collection brought by Valentine Rare Books (VRB).
The case relates to the ownership of the books. VRB claims it was given a 17%
share of the collection in 2003, when Paisner instructed the company to sell the
books. However, after selling some of the books and dedicating time to find
buyers for the collection, VRB claims Paisner then restricted it from making
further sales and disputed the company’s ownership. VRB says the move stifled
its business, causing serious financial loss.
The suit was filed at London’s Mercantile Court on 5 February after VRB
decided to take legal action to resolve the dispute,
Legal
Week reported.
James Gordon, litigation partner at law firm
Wragge & Co, acting for
VRB said: ‘Mr Paisner’s case is that VRB acted as his exclusive agent for sale.
Either way, VRB is entitled to significant recompense for the time and effort
that it put into marketing and preparing the collection for sale — and indeed
making sales.’