A pet owner has spoken of her disappointment after her and her husband lost a High Court case to keep their dog at their penthouse apartment in Limehouse.
Gabby and Florian Kuehn were banned from keeping Vinnie, their Maltese Yorkshire terrier cross, at their flat after they moved there in 2015.
The pair took their case to the High Court in London, challenging an earlier decision which ordered them to remove Vinnie from the property.
Mrs Kuehn, 46, a recruitment consultant, and her 43-year-old banker husband were originally given permission by their landlord to keep Vinnie at their flat in Victory Place, a gated residential development.
But they were left disappointed after Sir Geoffrey Vos ruled last week that there was nothing wrong with the decision.
Speaking after the ruling, Mrs Kuehn said: “Obviously, this is very disappointing, as although this case was about our dog that we love very much, it was also about standing up to management companies that took no account of the rights or feelings of an individual leaseholder.
“We took a stand against a company that we feel rode rough shod over our rights and spared no expense in pursuing us despite their failure to consider our application to keep Vinnie and from the beginning treated us in a high-handed and dismissive manner.”
Despite the couple arguing there was a “therapeutic benefit” gained from living with Vinnie, Victory Place management company (VPMC), which represents residents in the gated 146-flat complex, said there was a no-pets policy as part of the lease, except in “special circumstances”.
The board reached its decision after more than 70 leaseholders voted in favour of the “no pets” policy, while only the Kuehns voted against.
Challenging that ruling, the couple’s lawyers argued the board had “pre-determined” their decision to refuse the couple permission to keep Vinnie and the decision-making process was therefore unfair.
But, dismissing their appeal, Sir Geoffrey said he was not persuaded the management company had a “closed mind” or adopted an unfair process.
He added: “The reality is that, in a management company like VPMC, the views of the lessees who are its members are important.”
It is understood Vinnie is currently in temporary accommodation with the couple, who said they are preparing another application to the management company in a bid to return to their flat with their pet.
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