An accountant thinks that selecting the incorrect box on a sales form would cost him his home, as he faces a £200,000 bill after discovering Japanese knotweed in the grounds of his former residence.
Jeremy Henderson, 41, was sued by Jonathan Downing, 30, a furniture designer, over the sale of a three-bedroom home in posh Prince George’s Avenue, Raynes Park, south-west London, when knotweed canes were discovered beneath a big St. John’s wort shrub.
Japanese knotweed is an invasive species noted for its capacity to spread and inflict structural damage, as well as its difficulty and expense to eradicate.
It was determined that Mr. Henderson made a false statement when he declared in sales paperwork that there was “no” knotweed on the land, when he might have answered “yes” or “unknown.”
Jeremy Henderson, 41 (shown with wife Debbie), sold his three-bedroom home in Prince George’s Avenue, Raynes Park, south-west London, to furniture designer Jonathan Downing, 30.
Mr. Downing found Japanese knotweed canes beneath a large St. John’s wort bush adjacent to the shed and demanded that Mr. Henderson pay to have it removed.
In August of 2018, Jonathan Downing (left), age 30, purchased from Jeremy Henderson (right), age 41, a three-bedroom home on the exclusive Prince George’s Avenue in Raynes Park, southwest London.
How do you define Japanese knotweed?
Japanese knotweed is a plant species with stalks resembling bamboo and tiny white blooms.
The plant, which is native to Japan, is considered an invasive species.
The plant, Fallopia japonica, was brought to Britain by the Victorians as a beautiful garden plant and to stabilize the soil between railway tracks.
Japanese knotweed is a plant species with stalks resembling bamboo and little white blooms.
In the United Kingdom, it has no natural enemies, whereas in Asia it is controlled by fungi and insects.
It is listed as an invasive weed in 12 states in the United States and is present in the remaining 29.
Unchecked, it can cause severe damage to structures and construction sites due to its extreme tenacity and rapid growth.
The renowned plant may destroy entire gardens by strangling other plants.
It can grow eight inches in a single day, depriving other plants of vital nutrients and water.
Mr. Henderson believes he was the victim of a “miscarriage of justice,” but he fears he will be forced to sell his new home in order to pay the £200,000 bill.
After nearly four years of legal fighting, the case was resolved at the Central London County Court when Judge Jan Luba KC ruled out his defense and delivered him the substantial fees and damages bill.
Mr. Henderson told MailOnline, ‘It is an awful and disgraceful judgement that is an injustice. I’m still in shock.
“I had no reason to suspect there was knotweed in the home when I sold it. When I purchased the property in 2015, a survey revealed no indication of knotweed. I never witnessed it while living there, nor did my family or neighbors.
He continued, “The judge has no comprehension of my case and made no use of common sense.” This foolish ruling only encourages lawyers to pursue frivolous cases.
Mr. Henderson stated that relations with Mr. Downing deteriorated immediately after he received a “aggressive” legal letter informing him about the knotweed and demanding £16,000 for its removal.
“The letter accused me of lying and being fraudulent,” he fumed. If the buyer had asked if I would be willing to share the cost of removing the knotweed, I would have considered it. I almost contacted Mr. Downing to inquire as to why he believed I had mislead him, as I had nothing against him.
However, the letter was so forceful that I sought legal counsel, and my attorney advised me that I had no case to answer.
He continued, “In retrospect, I should have paid the £16,000 because I’ll have to pay much more.” But I decided to keep my ground because I was innocent of the knotweed because the tone of the letter angered and surprised me.
Mr. Henderson must now pay £32,000 in damages, as well as Mr. Downing’s legal fees of up to £95,000, as well as his personal expenses of over £100,000.
The court heard that Mr. Henderson had indicated on property sales paperwork that there was “no” knotweed present.
Tom Carter, Mr. Downing’s attorney, stated: ‘The defendant could have selected ‘Yes,’ ‘Not Known,’ or ‘No’; by selecting ‘No,’ the defendant decided to affirm there was no knotweed on the land and therefore made a false statement.’
As far as I was concerned, there was no knotweed, Mr. Henderson explained to MailOnline. My recommendation for prospective house sellers is to check “not known.”
In addition, he asserted that Mr. Downing did not conduct a survey prior to purchasing the land, and he added, ‘The judge simply overlooked this extremely critical fact.’
After selling their Raynes Park home, Mr. and Mrs. Henderson relocated to a larger home in Banstead, Surrey, which he thinks they may have to sell to pay the legal fee.
Mr. Downing, a graduate of the prestigious Chippendale International School of Furniture, intended to live in the Edwardian terrace (above) and construct a workshop in the backyard.
Mr. Henderson resides with his wife Debbie and their two unnamed children, an 8-year-old girl and a 5-year-old boy.
After selling their residence in Raynes Park, the couple relocated to a larger home in Banstead, Surrey, which he thinks they may have to sell to pay the legal fees.
He sobbed, “I hope it doesn’t come to that, but I don’t have the money to appeal, so I’ll have to figure out how to pay these costs and damages.”
This entire occurrence has had a horrible effect on the family and has left my wife and I extremely distressed. I simply do not know what to do because I have done nothing wrong.
Mr. Henderson asserted that he could not see the knotweed due to the big bush, which likely stifled the weed’s growth prior to its explosive growth when the shrub was pruned after Mr. Downing moved in.
In court, it was revealed that the knotweed may have once reached a height of up to 2 meters, and that it had been treated with herbicide in the past.
Judge Jan Luba KC tossed out his defense and ordered him to pay more than £200,000 in costs and damages after determining he did not sincerely think his property was free of Japanese knotweed at the time he sold it.
Mr. Downing’s attorney, Tom Carter, told Judge Luba at the Central London County Court that an expert claimed the weed had likely been in the garden since at least 2012.
Mr. Henderson moved into the residence in 2015 before selling it to Mr. Downing in 2018, saying expressly in the sales documents that there was “no” knotweed on the property.
Mr. Carter stated, “The defendant could have selected ‘Yes,’ ‘Not Known,’ or ‘No’; by selecting ‘No,’ the defendant chose to affirm there was no knotweed on the property and thus made a false statement.”
Mr. Downing filed a lawsuit for £32,000 to pay the costs of investigating and removing the plant, as well as the loss in property value caused by the invasion of Japanese knotweed.
However, while cleaning up the garden shortly after moving in, he noticed Japanese knotweed beneath a large bush of St. John’s wort growing near to the shed. Mr. Henderson in front of the Central London County Court
Mr. Henderson could not prove he had a “reasonable belief” that there was no Japanese knotweed present when he filled out the seller’s documents, according to his attorney.
“The defendant cannot meet his burden of proving he had reasonable grounds to believe the property was not affected by knotweed,” he said.
Mr. Downing testified to the judge that had Mr. Henderson stated that it was “unknown” whether the property was damaged by knotweed, he would have investigated more.
Mr. Henderson stated in his own testimony that he had no reason to suspect the presence of knotweed in his garden.
He stated, “I had lived there for three years and spent considerable time in the garden, but I had never seen knotweed.”
When I moved in, I received a surveyor’s report that did not identify any knotweed.
No one identified knotweed to me, and I did not observe any.
It was likely hindered by the bush due to the fact that it was concealed by the bushes.
But Judge Luba stated: “Everything depends on the specific facts and circumstances of the act of representation.”
Mr. Henderson testified under oath that he truly believed there was no Japanese knotweed in his garden. He was aware of its appearance, but had not seen one in the three years he had been there. His mother was an avid gardener, but she did not alert him to the presence of Japanese knotweed.
No previous owners had mentioned Japanese knotweed to him, and none of the neighbors had it in their gardens.
Had this information stood alone, he would have adequately persuaded me of his reasonable opinion that Japanese knotweed did not exist on his property.
However, he continued by stating that Mr. Henderson’s case was weakened by his admission that he “didn’t know what was behind the shed,” where the knotweed was hiding.
The judge stated that his faith in Mr. Henderson’s testimony was’shaken’ further by the joint knotweed expert’s testimony, which revealed that knotweed canes had likely reached 2 meters in height at one point and may have been ‘overhanging the neighbor’s garden.’
He added that there was indications that the weed had been treated with a pesticide in the past.
He continued, “According to the opinion of the single joint expert, Japanese knotweed would have been visible in the garden.”
“I wonder if Mr. Henderson truly believed that there was no Japanese knotweed damaging the property. I am not certain he has met that obligation.
Even if I am mistaken and he did sincerely believe the response, he has not demonstrated that he had reasonable grounds for doing so.
The defendant is accountable to the plaintiff for the agreed-upon amount of damages.
Mr. Henderson must now pay £32,000 in damages and Mr. Downing’s legal fees of up to £95,000, in addition to his own costs of over £100.
Has was sentenced to pay the damages in addition to £65,000 in costs within 21 days.
A homeowner revealed last year that a dispute with her neighbor over Japanese knotweed cost her an eye-popping £250,000, after she reduced the price of her London townhouse by £150,000 and incurred £100,000 in legal fees.
Charron Ishmael, 50, asserted that former NHS specialist Dr. Sheila Clark, 72, knew for years that she had the invasive plant in her adjacent garden in Islington, north London, but decided not to remove or treat it.
Charron disclosed that the deadly drug compelled her to reduce the asking price of her family property in Islington, north London, which was previously valued at £1.1 million. She finally sold it for £950,000 three months ago
»Accountant accuses Japanese knotweed measure of being a “miscarriage of justice.”«