A tarot card reader and actor is suing Vue Entertainment for £12.7 million after claiming he was "catapulted" from a defective cinema seat in north London. Marcus Hunefalk-Franzen, 60, alleges he suffered severe "whiplash" when a chair collapsed beneath him during a visit to Islington's Vue Cinema more than a decade ago.
Alleged Injuries and Incident
Hunefalk-Franzen claims the incident has left him with chronic neck and back pain, alongside an impaired sense of taste, smell, and hearing. The case, which has still not reached trial 11 years after the initial incident, has seen the claimant's initial £50,000 valuation of the injury grow into a multi-million-pound legal battle, according to The Telegraph.
Vue Entertainment has admitted liability for the accident itself but disputes the multi-million-pound valuation of the damages.
Career Impact and Claim
Hunefalk-Franzen, who resides in Camden, north London, was conducting professional tarot readings at Greenwich Market at the time of the September 2015 accident. Court documents filed on his behalf describe the scene inside the auditorium: "The claimant sat on a chair to view a film within the auditorium. As he alighted, the chair collapsed in on itself and catapulted the claimant forward into the chair in front." It was later discovered that the vital bolts anchoring the seat to the cinema floor were entirely missing.
While Vue's legal team initially argued the claim was worth between £8,000 and £12,500, the self-represented psychic insists the long-term disruptions to his career justify the £12.7m figure. He alleges that the chronic pain derailed lucrative, "unique" business ventures he had planned, which included an acting school and a bespoke "online psychic platform."
Pre-Trial Proceedings
He claims this digital concept would have generated £1.5m by now, allowing him to earn £1m a year and eventually sell the enterprise for £3 million upon his retirement. However, the cinema chain's defence highlights that Hunefalk-Franzen has a significant pre-existing medical history of fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and neck pain dating back to 2008.
At a recent pre-trial hearing, Central London County Court judge Alan Saggarson noted the claimant faces a "constellation of difficulties" regarding concentration and cognitive ability, and refused permission to rely on a revised pain expert report after deadlines were missed. The case is not scheduled to go to trial until the end of 2027.
