‘Bully’ neighbor locked in 10-YEAR parking war over shared driveway hit with £160,000 bill after ‘boxing’ in cars

A “BULLY” who has been locked in a parking war with his neighbors for 10 years has been asked to admit defeat after a judge refused to reopen his case.

Ivan Soares, 55, and Manish Kothari, 43, both accountants, row on their shared driveway has their West London an impasse since 2015.

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Mr. Soares was ordered to pay £60,000 to Manish Kothari for his “oppressive” behavior on their shared driveway in 2023.

But since he was unable to attend the trial for medical reasons, he insisted that the case be reopened.

Mr. Soares claims his toothache was preventing him from speaking at the time and he had to leave the country for emergency dental treatment.

Judge Graham Wood KC told Mr Soares he would not be prepared to pursue the case further after learning the row had racked up £100,000 in legal fees since 2015.

“If he was unable to speak, he could have written to his lawyers and given them instructions regarding the trial,” he told the hearing.

“Accordingly, I find that he had no good reason not to attend the trial.”

Mr Kothari claimed Mr Soares’ actions had reduced the value of their home by £750,000.

He bought the three-bedroom property in Harefield for £375,000 in 2006.

It came with a single parking space sandwiched between Mr. Soares’ two parking spaces.

Bindu Kothari, her husband Sandip and brother-in-law Manish alleged that their neighbor frequently locked them out by parking inches from their car and blocked their garage.

In the meantime, Mr. and Mrs. Soares accused their neighbors of trespassing on their own parking space, with tensions so high during the argument that police were involved.

Historically, Mr. and Mrs. Soares had permitted a “swap” arrangement, whereby they parked their vehicles in the two adjacent spaces on the left, closest to their house, with the Kotharis using the space on the right.

The couple said it was a “reasonable” thing to do because it allowed them to park their cars together in front of their house, with their neighbors parking closest to their own house and garage.

But the neighbors quarreled because of the parking arrangements – after allegations of inconsiderate parking – and, in September 2018, Mr and Mrs Soares “revoked” the exchange agreement.

The parking dispute ended up before a judge in 2021, when it was ruled that Mr. and Mrs. Soares had validly revoked the swap agreement and that the space on the right was rightfully theirs.

But the case returned to court last week as Mr and Mrs Soares claimed compensation for the Kotharis having “encroached” on their land by continuing to park in the space for almost two years after the end of the exchange agreement.

However, the Kotharis filed a lawsuit, seeking compensation for their neighbors’ poor parking, which they claimed had hurt the value of their property.

Ms Kothari told the judge how her neighbor regularly reversed towards her. the vehicle space, “moving closer and closer to his car until they were almost touching.”

And she said she hasn’t used the space in between, which belongs to her family, since July 2022 “for fear of being locked out” by their neighbor.

Mr Soares had also at times left the couple’s car parked at the end of the main road in the cul-de-sac, “causing an obstruction”, as well as blocking access to the Kotharis’ garage.

The Kotharis claimed the value of their £750,000 home had been reduced due to the impact of their neighbors’ oppressive parking, with an estate agent telling them the issues should be disclosed to potential buyers and could reduce the value of their property. sale up to 10. percent.

Judge Evans-Gordon said a police officer who attended the road over the dispute described Mr Soares’ parking as “selfish and unnecessary”.

After reversing until his vehicle was very close to Ms Kothari’s, he turned his wheels towards his car before driving off, the judge said.

Calling Mr Soares’ parking “overbearing, insulting and oppressive”, the judge added: “this is illustrated by the testimony of Ms Kothari, who told me that when she could not access her car, she had asked Mr. Soares to move his car. because she couldn’t get to work, but he said “that’s not my problem” – and refused to move her car.

“There is no better example of authoritarian and insulting behavior.”

She awarded the Kotharis £60,090 to compensate them for their neighbors’ trespass on their space, damage to their parking area and for the reduction in the value of their home caused by the litigation.

She said: “Given the applicant’s behavior – which amounts to intimidation – a potential buyer might fear repeated incidents. Hence the reduction in value.”

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