01 February 2023 , 13:36
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The boss of London's Sherlock Holmes Museum has won the right to kick his younger brother out of his £1m home amid a bitter 10-year feud which has torn their family apart.
Businessman John Aidiniantz and his siblings have clocked up over 100 court appearances and racked up more than £2.5m in costs and court orders in an epic decade-long feud, sparked by a row over the spoils of the "goldmine" museum at 221B Baker Street.
The museum, set up in 1989, was the brainchild of Mr Aidiniantz and has brought in millions, attracting hordes of tourists keen to see its "gas-lit world of London's iconic detective and his Victorian surroundings."
He worked alongside his siblings, Linda and Stephen Riley, and Jenny Decoteau in it over the years, but for the last decade the family have been locked in a "poisonous" feud over money, property and the care of their elderly mum.
Last October, they went to court again as John, through his company Rollerteam Ltd, launched a bid to have his 59-year-old brother Stephen kicked out of their late mum's £1m former home in Battersea.
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Mr Aidiniantz said that, following a family agreement, the property was held on trust by Linda for his company and that Stephen and another occupant, his aunt Elizabeth Mackertich, had no right to continue living there.
But Stephen and Linda, 61, claimed he could not be forced out of the house, because he was promised it as a "home for life" when it was bought back in 1997.
John Aidiniantz has won the right to evict his brother (Champion News)
Stephen Riley outside the High Court (Champion News)Last week, returning to court to give his ruling, judge Deputy Master Bowles found that Stephen had no claim to the house and no right to stay there.
The London court heard that the Sherlock Holmes Museum was set up close to Marylebone Station in 1989, having been the brainchild of John Aidiniantz, 66.
It proved highly successful - with the court being told it is "a goldmine".
Although other family members have in the past been involved, Mr Aidiniantz is currently the sole director of the company which owns it, Rollerteam Ltd.
In 1997, a house in Parkgate Road, Battersea, south London, was purchased in Linda's name, intended to be a home for their mum, Grace Aidiniantz, and vulnerable younger brother, Stephen.
But the family was torn apart in 2012 when the relationship between John and the rest "collapsed in a welter of bad feelings and cross-allegations," Linda's barrister Cheryl Jones told the court.
It ultimately resulted in a deluge of court cases, with the family arguing over £1.8m worth of takings from the museum, ownership and occupancy of various properties and the care of their elderly mum.
The fight has variously been described by judges who have dealt with it as "poisonous," "lamentable" and "sad" - with "bitterness and contempt" between various members of the family.
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Giving judgment last week, the judge said: "Stephen should be looked after elsewhere."
He said Stephen had been a "bare licencee" at the house, meaning he was there with permission of the owner, and could not assert a claim to it by either constructive trust or proprietary estoppel.
Grace and Linda had promised a "home" to Stephen, but had done so as "mother and sister" and without giving thought to the legal basis of the promise, he said.
The long-running family feud has already resulted in orders for payments from various members of the family totalling at least £2m, while their lawyers' bills have been astronomical.