The Law Soc Gazette reports
Mayfair casino Aspinall’s has succeeded in a claim against a high rolling gambler who maintained that his £590,000 losses were unenforceable because he had been drunk when he placed his bets. In Aspinall’s Club Ltd v Lester Hui, Mr Justice Cotter lamented that the 10-day hearing had been ‘beset with difficulties’ including unsatisfactory disclosure and a trial bundle containing ‘well over 1,500 pages’.
‘As is so often the case,’ the judge observed, ‘no real attempt had been made to confine the bundle to documents which the judge was possibly going to be referred to’.
The dispute arose following a Chinese New Year event at the club in 2016. Lester Hui, who had been a member for 20 years, enjoyed complimentary food and drinks with his guests and went on to gamble in a private room. His bets were placed against a blank signed personal cheque; when his losses reached £500,000 he asked for a £300,000 credit extension. He was granted £100,000 and, after losing this money, drove 20 miles home in his Bentley.
Hui stopped his check and claimed that during the night he had become ‘blackout drunk’ and was therefore incapable of signing a negotiable instrument. The casino brought claims for £589,724 under the Bills of Exchange Act and common law breach of contract.
https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/law/drunk-gambler-must-honour-590000-cheque-judge-rules/5116908.article
