By GB News (World News) | Created at 2024-11-19 13:49:49 | Updated at 2024-11-24 07:20:50
4 days ago
A businesswoman is facing court bills of more than £600,000 after losing her legal battle to be reinstated at an exclusive Mayfair private members club.
Gina Mok, 46, was expelled from the prestigious Lansdowne Club in November 2021 for breaching Covid regulations.
The High Court ruled against her bid for reinstatement, with Justice Ritchie finding she had been dishonest about her claimed exemption from isolation rules.
Mok, who paid £1,235 annually for her membership at the club, must now pay the establishment's legal costs on an 'indemnity' basis, with £350,000 due upfront.
Gina Mok, 46, was expelled from the prestigious Lansdowne Club in November 2021 for breaching Covid regulations
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The ruling comes after a separate legal setback involving her illegal subletting of a flat near Buckingham Palace.
Mok's troubles began following a trip to Bulgaria in October 2021, when she attended the Lansdowne Club despite being required to self-isolate.
After being informed she should have been isolating at home, she claimed she was unaware the rules had changed during her travels.
Despite checking the regulations that evening, she returned to the club the following day while displaying Covid-like symptoms.
The incident prompted a disciplinary process, resulting in the club committee voting for her removal in November 2021.
The Lansdowne Club, established in 1935 near Berkeley Square as a "social, residential and athletic club for members of social standing", has counted notable figures such as fashion designer Paul Smith and broadcaster Richard Dimbleby among its members.
Mok had been a member since 2015 and served on the club's council in 2021.
In court, Mok claimed she had been wrongfully expelled, arguing the club had "no reasonable grounds" for her removal.
She testified that she had received confirmation of exempt status from both her GP and NHS 119 before her second visit.
The businesswoman also alleged she was expelled because she had raised "difficult questions" about supposed financial mismanagement at the club.
However, Justice Ritchie dismissed her claims, stating he did not accept her evidence about receiving exemption confirmation.
"I find, on the balance of probabilities, that she broke the law when she went to the club on 26 and 27 October 2021 and, on 27 October 2021, she did so intentionally in the knowledge that she should be in quarantine," he said.
The judge noted that Mok had ultimately conceded none of her allegations about financial mismanagement were substantiated.
"I consider that the behaviour of the claimant is out of the norm in litigation because of her dishonesty," he stated.
The judge highlighted that Mok had made "scurrilous allegations" about the club's chairwoman and refused to engage in alternative dispute resolution.
He noted the club had offered to partially refund £560 for her cancelled membership early in the dispute.
"She was dishonest to the council members she spoke to, and she admitted that her witness statement included falsehoods," the judge said.
The total costs include £350,000 upfront payment, £62,000 from pre-trial hearings, and her own legal fees of approximately £200,000.
In a separate legal matter, Mok faces an additional £18,721 bill after losing a case involving her £32,000-a-year flat near Buckingham Palace.
The businesswoman was found to have illegally listed the property on Airbnb shortly after beginning her tenancy in July 2022.
Neighbours reported seeing holidaymakers arriving with suitcases and "marauding around" on the roof at night.
Mok denied responsibility, claiming a friend had listed the property without her knowledge while she was in the US.
District Judge Worthington rejected her account at the initial trial, with Judge Alan Saggerson later dismissing her appeal application.
The court heard Mok did receive £3,150 in compensation from her landlord for failing to place her deposit in a protection scheme within the required timeframe.
