Case No. HT-11-503

152.The claim for Mr Penny’s fees divided into three parts. The first related to the period prior to the reinstatement fitting-out works in June 2007 and was in the sum of £22,504. That included the sum of in excess of £13,000 odd, which was not the subject of an invoice but which apparently related to his attendance at meetings in relation to the insurance claim and the like. The claim for the period between June and October was in the sum of £26,181. The last period, which occurred after The Oak was up and running, was in the sum of £6,418. When Mr Thomas was cross-examined about Mr Penny’s fee claim, he was properly cross-examined by Mr Plewman on the basis of these three separate periods.153.I consider that the claim for the middle period from June to October, in the sum of £26,181, should be allowed in full. That is because the figure is very close to Mr Thomas valuation for the same period, in the sum of £23,750. This is a good example of a situation where the ‘bottom-up’ valuation approach adopted by Mr Thomas produces a figure very close to the actual figure incurred. In those circumstances, it seems to me that Brit Inns should have the benefit of any doubt. Accordingly, I allow £26,181 in relation to Mr Penny’s claim for the fit-out works. By the same token, of course, it must follow that the claim for the subsequent period, namely £6,418, must be excluded in full, just as Mr Thomas has done. It appears that such work had nothing whatsoever to do with the second inundation. 154.That then leaves the question of the first period, prior to the commencement of the fit-out works. The experts are agreed that this should not be allowed as it stands; they have both made reductions to the sum claimed, and the issue for me is the appropriate amount of the reduction to be made.155.The claim is for £22,504. For the reasons which I have given, that claim is both unsupported by the documents and, in my judgment, is wholly unjustified. There was no need for Mr Penny to be on site for very much of this period, because it was during the period prior to June that the structural remedial works, including the installation of the Delta Drain, were being carried out. In addition, there was no need for Mr Penny to attend meetings with Mr Greig (if he did so): I have already made the point that the one time Mr Greig needed Mr Penny, which was the following year, and after the claim had been formally made, Mr Penny was not available to him.156.Mr Thomas made an allowance of 1 week to cover Mr Penny’s involvement during the period when the fit-out works were not yet started. That is in the sum of £1,250. I consider that the right allowance is for 2 weeks, because that was the (albeit vague) evidence about the length of time that the stripping-out took (paragraph 20 above). It was reasonable for Mr Penny to be on site for that period. That makes a total of £2,500.157.Accordingly, I allow Mr Penny’s claims in relation to this claim in the sum of