Opera singer's dog hair claim sparks legal fight

Published on Friday 12 June 2009 10:10

WHEN an opera singer found the Edinburgh flat he had rented was covered in dog hairs, he claimed it could have affected his voice and made it impossible to perform.

Francesc Garrigosa, who was in Edinburgh to perform at the International Festival, and his two daughters were moved to another flat, but the incident led to a legal battle between the flat's owner and the letting company in the city's Sheriff Court.

The flat's owner, Joanne Soroka, an artist and lecturer at Edinburgh College of Art, appointed Dickins Festival & Short Lets as agents to let her Clarence Street flat in 2007.

Ms Soroka sued the letting company for 1,265.67, for money she would have received if the let had gone ahead and to recover a cleaning bill deduction.

The firm launched a counter claim for 869.50, but in a written judgment, Sheriff Alistair Noble found both parties' claims had been unsuccessful.