Philippe Etchebest, on December 6, 2019, in his brasserie “Le Quatrième Mur”, in Bordeaux. – Mickaël Bosredon / 20 Minutes
- Philippe Etchebest claimed more than two million euros, among other things for abusive recourse, to the neighbor who disputes his restaurant project in the Chartrons district.
- Considering finally that this summons was intended to put pressure on this neighbor, so that he withdraws his requests for cancellation of the building permits, the judicial court dismissed the media chief of Bordeaux, and even considered that he had caused moral damage to his opponent.
- The file on the merits is still not settled, which allows Philippe Etchebest to continue the work of his future Bordeaux restaurant.
He claimed 369,000 euros from his neighbor, for “abusive recourse”, and a little more than 1.7 million euros “if he persisted in obstructing [s] we are planning real estate ”. There was also a request for 80,000 euros for “damage to the image. “That is a total of nearly 2.2 million euros. The Bordeaux judicial court not only dismissed Philippe Etchebest of his claims, but in return condemned him for the moral damage he himself inflicted on his neighbor, to 20,000 euros in damages, and 5,000 euros. procedural costs.
Derived from the dispute between Philippe Etchebest and one of his neighbors, in the context of the construction of his new restaurant in the Chartrons district in Bordeaux, this case was the subject of a judgment by the seventh civil chamber of the judicial tribunal , on April 13th.
In this judgment that 20 minutes obtained, it is recalled that the SCI Chartrons of Philippe Etchebest, had obtained on March 16, 2018 a building permit for the rehabilitation of a building rue Rode in Bordeaux, to make it “a grocery store, a tea room, a takeaway activity and a gourmet restaurant, with official accommodation and storage rooms. »Owner of a neighboring apartment, Christophe Chaillet had seized the administrative court on November 18, 2018 to cancel this building permit. The beginning of a fierce judicial standoff between the two men, which is still not over.
Request for a stay of proceedings
Complaining “of the abusive nature of these remedies”, the SCI Chartrons of Philippe Etchebest seized on February 27, 2019 the tribunal de grande instance “of an action for compensation” against Christophe Chaillet. At the same time, the disputes over the construction permits of the Bordeaux media chief – the first was canceled and a second was suspended after being attacked again by Christophe Chaillet – continued, and are still not finished, since a reserved decision is still awaited.
The decision on the merits still not being rendered, Philippe Etchebest had asked the court for a stay of ruling on this “abusive recourse” part of the case, arguing that the current proceedings “increase his damage which will have to do the subject to updating. The court, however, considered that it had the necessary elements to rule in this case in the case.
Philippe Etchebest’s neighbor “did not show lack of discernment”
And for the court, “it does not follow at all that Mr. Chaillet has abusively contested the building permits granted to SCI Chartrons. “It was therefore considered that the neighbor of Philippe Etchebest” did not show a lack of discernment in the exercise of his right to access a judge, so that the SCI Chartrons, which does not report the proof of malicious intent or of harming him (…) will be dismissed of all of his claims. “
In response, the lawyer of Christophe Chaillet M ° Thomas Rivière had made a claim for compensation up to 80,000 euros in compensation for the moral damage of his client. The latter considers in fact to have been the victim of an abusive legal procedure on the part of the SCI Chartrons “on the grounds that the summons was intended to put pressure on him so that he withdrew his requests for the cancellation of his licenses. to build. “
The court actually raised that “the amount of the sums mentioned, namely 2,192,802.25 euros, was quite considerable and likely to impress Mr. Chaillet, threatened with ruin and having to at least bear the fear of the weight of ‘a judgment due to competition. “
“A maneuver to terrorize my client”
“By initiating this action under such chronological conditions for such an amount, SCI Chartrons was pursuing a desire to obtain a withdrawal of the appeal before the administrative judge much more than compensation for damage which remained future and uncertain”, concludes the tribunal. So much so that he considers that “the SCI Chartrons committed a fault which generated moral damage through the anxiety suffered by Mr. Chaillet” and condemns the SCI Chartrons to 20,000 euros “by way of damages and interest in compensation of his moral prejudice. “
Contacted by 20 minutes, Christophe Chaillet’s lawyer, M ° Thomas Rivière, thinks that the action brought by Philippe Etchebest “was a maneuver to terrorize [s]on client, and make him renounce his recourse. “
“Numerous irregularities with regard to the rules of the local urban plan”
“The consequences of the procedures launched by Philippe Etchebest will have cost him more than what my client claimed from him at the start of the case [soit 130.000 euros], for the damages caused by the realization of his restaurant, still considers the lawyer. He could have simply compensated for this damage, or bought the apartment of my client that he had also visited. “
Christophe Chaillet had seen the sale of his apartment canceled in 2018, due to Philippe Etchebest’s restaurant project. He had then analyzed the building permit, and noted that it, “by elements of rear elevations, construction of a terrace, would indeed create a serious nuisance and included many irregularities with regard to the rules of the local plan of town planning protecting this sector under the name of “stone city” “recalls his lawyer.
Contacted several times this Friday, Philippe Etchebest did not respond to our requests. He had repeatedly denounced in recent months a “harassment” against him, stressing in particular that his building permit was validated by three different municipal teams, and that the famous roof terrace initially planned, no longer appears in the new building permit. to build. He also warned that he would not abandon his project, the work of which was also able to continue, pending a final judgment on the merits of the case.
It is not yet known whether Philippe Etchebest will appeal the decision of the Bordeaux judicial court.