Saluja v Gill (t/a P Gill Estate Agents Property Services)& Anor, Court of Appeal - Chancery Division, July 16, 2002, [2002] EWHC 1435 (Ch)

Reporting Judge: [2002] EWHC 1435 (Ch)

President: Saluja v Gill (t/a P Gill Estate Agents Property Services)& Anor

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Extract

Saluja v Gill (t/a P Gill Estate Agents Property Services)& Anor, Court of Appeal - Chancery Division, July 16, 2002, [2002] EWHC 1435 (Ch)

Case No: CC/2002/PTA/0005

Neutral Citation Number: [2002] EWHC 1435 (Ch)

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE

CHANCERY DIVISION

ON APPEAL FROM

THE MAYORS AND CITY OF LONDON COUNTY COURT

Royal Courts of Justice

Strand, London, WC2A 2LL

Date: 16 July 2002

B e f o r e :

THE HONOURABLE MR JUSTICE LADDIE

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Mr Ian Mayes QC and Mr Dale Martin (instructed by Messrs Arlingtons Sharmas for the Appellant)

Mr Alun Jenkins (instructed by Messrs Sohal & Company for the Respondents)

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Hearing date: Thursday, 27 June, 2002

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Judgment

Mr Justice Laddie:

This is an appeal from a judgment of His Honour Judge Marr-Johnson sitting in the Mayor's and City of London County Court. The appellant, who is the claimant in the action, is Dr Singh Saluja. He is a general practitioner whose practice is in Southall. The respondents are Mr Partap Singh Gill and Netlink Property Services Limited. The learned judge held that the latter company was the corporate alter ego of Mr Gill and he treated Mr Gill as the effective defendant. The same course was followed by the parties before me and I will do likewise in this judgment. The learned judge stated that Mr Gill's occupation is a matter of some contention. At all material times he was trading under various names including PSG Property Management Services and Property Services Guaranteed. Apparently he also trades as P Gill Estate Agents Property Management Services and, of course, he trades through the second respondent, Netlink Property Services Limited. How Mr Gill makes his living lies at the heart of the action and this appeal.

The issues and background facts

The facts giving rise to the dispute between the parties may be summarised as follows. Dr Saluja owns premises at 36A Northcote Avenue, Southall. Part of those premises are used as a surgery from which Dr Saluja carries on his practice. Above it are four self-contained flats. According to Dr Saluja, in late 1998 he decided to use the flats to house asylum seekers of whom there were large numbers in the London Borough of Hillingdon at the time. The Borough paid rental for each asylum seeker housed. The four flats were to be used to house up to 24 persons nightly at a rate of £15 per person for bed and breakfast. Apparently this produced an income stream of £10,080.00 per month. According to Dr Saluja, on 15 October he agreed to employ Mr Gill as his managing agent to get in the rent from Hillingdon and manage the property in return for a fixed management charge of 10% of the rents received net of certain costs to be incurred in making the flats suitable for their intended purpos...

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