Princess heir Hanne Madsen was last summer sentenced to 45 days in prison for having built a tennis court and underground tunnel without permission in the beach zone on his own property at Hesnes in Grimstad. It happened after the Supreme Court sharpened the sentences, after treatment in two previous courts.
Madsen, who is chairman of the board in the Princess chain, has all along thought that she was never informed that the work was illegal. Therefore, she also sued Hemato Eiendom AS, which built the tennis court on the leisure property.
Madsen has demanded compensation for the losses she claims to have suffered as a result of the tennis court being illegally constructed, and that it had to be removed at the request of the municipality, writes Agderposten, who first mentioned the case.
When the civil case was up in Aust-Agder District Court in April last year, Madsen lost on all counts. But after an appeal hearing in the Agder Court of Appeal in March this year, the Princess heir has now won.
Princess heir sentenced to prison
According to the verdict, contractor Hemato Eiendom must pay Madsen NOK 1,090,000 within two weeks of the verdict being announced. However, the company is acquitted of the claim for compensation for the costs of a lawyer.
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“After an overall assessment, albeit in doubt, the majority of the Court of Appeal has concluded that Hemato did not fulfill its duty as a service provider under the Craftsmen’s Service Act § 5 first paragraph to safeguard Madsen’s interests with due care”, it is stated in the judgment from the Agder Court of Appeal.
Furthermore, the Court of Appeal concludes that the company did not fulfill either «The duty to dissuade Madsen from constructing the tennis court without having applied for the necessary public permits. For that reason, Hemato had to assume that the service would not be of reasonable benefit to Madsen, cf. the Craftsmen’s Services Act § 7 first paragraph. »
“Essentially to blame”
The judgment also states that “Although Madsen is also significantly to blame for having the tennis court built without having applied for it, in the majority’s view there is not sufficient coverage to say that the parties agreed that the measure should be implemented despite the risk associated with the obligation to apply. . »
The verdict was handed down during the dissent, with a minority opposing the outcome of the case.
Costs for the district court and the court of appeal are not awarded to any of the parties in the case.
Hanne Madsen (50) is the daughter of investor Per Werner Madsen (79), who according to Capital in 2018 was good for 750 million kroner. Dagbladet wrote in 2019 that the 50-year-old had a fortune of 188 million kroner.
The Princess heir took over the idyllic property on Hesnes from his parents. Both father and daughter are extremely media-shy, and Madsen is hardly depicted or mentioned in the Norwegian media before the illegal construction case.
– Takes a mistake
Lawyer Halvard Helle, who represents Hemato Eiendom AS, tells Børsen that it is in the cards that the verdict will be appealed.
– The majority of the Court of Appeal is wrong. They have probably not thought well enough about the consequences of such a judgment, namely that a client who himself acts with gross negligence can demand compensation from the contractor. Here, it is probably the district court and the majority of the Court of Appeal that have approached the case correctly, says Helle.
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He says that no formal decision has been made as to whether the verdict will be appealed, but when asked whether it is relevant to take the case further, Helle says:
– It’s in the cards.
Børsen has so far not received a response to our inquiries to lawyer Erling Keyser, who represents Hanne Madsen.
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