Accountant loses $600,000 grape lawsuit

LONDON (Reuters) - An accountant who tried to sue British retail chain Marks & Spencer after he slipped on a grape and injured himself lost his case on Wednesday and was ordered to pay legal costs.

Alexander Martin-Sklan, 55, sued for more than 300,000 pounds ($600,000) over the 2004 incident in which he said a squashed grape from the store got lodged under the sole of his right sandal, causing him to slip and fall.

He said he suffered a ruptured quadricep, adverse psychological effects and depression following the incident, which meant that his business suffered and he could no longer ski or play tennis.

But the judge ruled against him, determining that while there may have been a grape or some "crushed fruit or similar" on the sole of Martin-Sklan's sandal, he was not persuaded that it "caused the claimant to slip."

"In my judgment it was one of those accidents that could happen to anyone," the judge said.

Martin-Sklan, who represented himself in the case, was ordered to pay the retailer's legal fees of nearly 20,000 pounds. He refused to comment after the judgment.

(Reporting by Luke Baker; Editing by Charles Dick)