Page 5 - STATEMENT OF CASE re-OCR s22_1

16 Directors of MHML have improperly remunerated themselves at the expense of the leaseholders for time incurred by MHML and its Directors in dealing with a “Right to Manage” application (the purpose of which was to displace MHML as manager of the Property).
(comment/reply) Mrs H. Hillgarth (applicant) owed MHML for fees ad costs incurred whilst defend- ing her RTM application and was duly debited that amount quite fairly after due warning.
Further information outlined on the Third Schedule (Item 16)
17 The landlord is in breach of many aspects of the Code of Practice approved by the Secretary of State under Section 87, Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 - see in particular the Service Charge Residential Management Code - some of these breaches being listed in Schedule Three below.
(comment/reply) If we have been, we must simply try harder but would dispute many if not all and would welcome specific examples from each code to prove authenticity of accusation.
Other circumstances exist which make it just and convenient for the appointment of a properly qualified professional manager to manage the Property.
(comment/reply) If there are, we await to be advised. Third Schedule - Matters relied on by the tenants
The matters which will be relied upon by the tenants for the purposes of establishing the grounds in the Second Schedule above are set out in this Third Schedule below. They explain and develop (seriatim) the specific grounds set out in the Second Schedule, with reference to relevant supporting documents. The key items of evidence are Witness Statements from Mrs Michele Hillgarth (the leaseholder of Flat 5 at Mitre House) and Mr Tony White, the Managing Director of AR Lawrence and Sons Ltd (a building firm which was engaged to carry out the refurbishment project at Mitre House). Where admissions have been made in correspondence the relevant letters are numbered appropriately and attached to this Notice - see list of documents in the Fifth Schedule below.
(comment/reply) Both Witness Statements already proved inaccurate deny as required. 1. Background and the issue of Management Charges
There are nine residential flats in total at Mitre House and there are retail premises on the ground floor. Mitre House Management Limited ("MHML") acquired the headlease of the block at Mitre House from River's Edge (Dorrington) in August 2011. Each of the three directors of MHML owns a flat in the block - Paul Brown-Constable owns Flat 7, Segar Karupiah owns Flat 2 and Jamil Raja (Dima International Lim- ited) owns Flat 6 - and each of them holds 25% of the shares of MHML. The balance of 25% is owned by Mrs Hillgarth, who was a director but was dismissed from office by the other three on 18 September 2014. The causes and consequences of this rupture are explained in the paragraphs below.
MHML was originally established in 2011 in order to acquire the head lease of Mitre House and to ap- point an acceptable independent professional firm to manage the block. However no properly qualified managing agent was ever appointed and Mrs Hillgarth was persuaded, against her better judgement, that MHML would be better off managing the block itself. Since January 2012 MHML has (through Mr Paul Brown-Constable) been managing the block itself and imposing, as part of the overall service charge for the block, an MHML management charge to its own leaseholders/tenants.
The imposition of these MHML management charges lies at the root of all the problems that have subse- quently arisen at Mitre House, and which have recently given rise to serious allegations of blackmail, fraud, theft and false accounting.
Under Clause 13 of Schedule 7 of the various Leases (including Mrs Hillgarth's lease) the Head Lessee
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