A COSTS hearing to decide who should pay for legal proceedings about the ownership of a £1m North Oxford home has been adjourned.

Nigerian Abbey Folami said he was the owner of the seven-bedroom house in Warnborough Road and tried to evict tenants Phil Brown and Kieron Halstead.

But his claim was thrown out earlier this year by Recorder Alastair Wilson, who branded it “fraudulent” and said there was evidence documents in the case had been forged.

He ordered that the home’s ownership should officially revert back to Chief Obasola Atobala, who bought it for £15,000 in 1977.

Our top stories

Yesterday Recorder Wilson heard arguments from barristers for the tenants and Mr Folami about who should pay the costs of the case.

During the hearing it was revealed that the legal bill incurred just by Mr Brown and Mr Halstead was about £180,000.

Most of this was paid by Headington property developer Martin Young, who was accused of “wanton and officious meddling” by Mr Folami’s barrister, Richard Devereux-Cooke.

But Recorder Wilson told him: “These two people would have been thrown out of their home and a fraudulent person would have got ownership of it, if it had not been for Mr Young. There was just no other way in which your client could have been defeated, as I found he so justly should have been.”

Mr Devereux-Cooke further argued his client should not have to pay the costs of the case because Mr Brown and Mr Halstead did not gain ownership themselves.

He said: “While Mr Folami has lost his claim, it is essentially a no score draw.

“Both sides lost the argument they were making, and so it would be right in these rather peculiar circumstances for both sides to bear their own costs.”

Recorder Wilson, sitting in Oxford County Court, said he would reserve his judgment and deliver it in several weeks’ time.

 

 

  • Do you want alerts delivered straight to your phone via our WhatsApp service? Text NEWS or SPORT or NEWS AND SPORT, depending on which services you want, and your full name to 07767 417704. Save our number into your phone’s contacts as Oxford Mail WhatsApp and ensure you have WhatsApp installed.