A High Court bid for damages has been rejected for three seat holders at the Royal Albert Hall who alleged the venue’s operator “unlawfully” deprived them of their seating rights.
Arthur George and William and Alexander Stockler, seeking £500,000 in damages, claimed the Corporation of the Hall of Arts and Sciences, known as the Royal Albert Hall (RAH), excluded them from more performances than permitted by regulations.
Their legal representatives requested a judge to declare the exclusion practice unlawful and to issue an injunction preventing the RAH from restricting their access beyond legal limits.
Judge Sir Anthony Mann dismissed the request, stating the dispute should proceed to a full trial.
Mr. George possesses 12 seats across two separate boxes, while the Stocklers jointly own four seats in a single box.
They sought a summary judgment in their favor, along with an interim damages payment of £500,000, prior to a final determination of the total amount, a move opposed by the RAH’s legal team.
In a written ruling issued Tuesday, the judge dismissed the application, stating, “It would seem to me to be potentially unhelpful to have the declaration sought.”
“Whether any declaration at all is justified at a trial, when all the relevant issues and defenses have been canvassed and ruled on, will be a matter for the trial judge.”
Regulations for seat holders are governed by the Royal Albert Hall Act and internal governance policies.
Sir Anthony added, “The history of the matter and its effect needs to be gone into with a degree of thoroughness which only a trial can provide, and a trial is necessary in order to determine the validity of this defence.”
“That being the case, I do not need to consider the question of the measure of damages and whether an interim award is justified.”
During a hearing earlier this month, David Sawtell, representing Mr. George and the Stocklers, clarified that the case was not a “breach of contract case” but rather concerned the “wrongful” use of private property.
He argued, “We say, if you take someone else’s property and use it, you are liable to compensate the property owner for that use.”
In written submissions for the corporation, Simon Taube KC noted that the men, who have been corporation members since before 2008, did not vote against the practice until the 2023 annual general meeting.
He added, “The background to the claim is that in recent years the claimants’ relations with the corporation have deteriorated because of the claimants’ complaints about various financial matters.”
Seat and box holders have been integral to the Royal Albert Hall since they contributed to the construction of the Grade I listed venue, inaugurated by Queen Victoria in 1871.
These investors were granted rights to use or access their seats for the duration of the hall’s 999-year lease, according to the venue’s official website.
Approximately 1,268 seats, out of the hall’s total capacity of 5,272, remain under the private ownership of 316 individuals. Some seats have been passed down through generations within the original investors’ families.
These seat holders, known as members, are entitled to attend two-thirds of the performances held at the hall within any 12-month period, as stated by Harrods Estates, the entity managing the sale of these seats and stalls.
A row of four stall seats, listed as sold, had a guide price of £650,000.
Seat holders are “free to do as they please with the tickets allocated to them for their seats,” according to the RAH’s website, allowing members to generate income by reselling their tickets.
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