US presidential candidate Mr. H. Ross Perot has been taken to the Privy Council, the highest court in the Commonwealth.

Bermuda resident Mr. Brent Kelly has been arguing in courts since 1988 that he was gypped when he sold his Winsor Beach home to the Texas billionaire for $2.5 million.

Mr. Kelly, an American, maintains he could have sold for a higher price had he been told by realtors that Mr. Perot was also planning to buy a second home at the other end of the beach.

In 1988, the Supreme Court agreed with him. In 1990, the Bermuda Court of Appeal didn't and on June 2 and 3 this year the Privy Council heard his arguments.

The two-day session before five Law Lords saw lawyers for Mr. Kelly and his one-time realtors, Cooper Associates, argue over a deal that, in 1985, was the highest ever price paid for a Tucker's Town home.

Mr. Kelly's home Caliban was purchased by Mr. Ross Perot Jr. at the same time Mr. Perot bought Vertigo. The two homes sit at opposite ends of Winsor Beach, one of the most isolated and beautiful on the Island.

Mr. David Oliver QC, lawyer for Mr. Kelly, dealt with three issues in appeal.

They were that: Cooper Associates had a duty to tell Mr. Kelly of Mr. Perot's offer to buy Vertigo, and were in breach of that duty; Mr. Kelly suffered financial damages if there was a breach of such duty; and Cooper Associates was not entitled to their $125,000 commission on the sale of Caliban of there was a breach of duty.

Yesterday, Mr. Geoffrey Bell, who with Mr. Kenneth Robinson QC appeared for Cooper Associates, said the Law Lords indicated during the hearing that the realtors had acted in good faith with Mr. Kelly at all times.

He said they also indicated they did not wish to hear Cooper Associates on the issue of entitlement to commission -- an indication supporting Cooper Associates keeping their $125,000.

The real estate dispute developed shortly after Mr. Perot and his son bought the two Winsor Beach homes in 1985.

Mr. Kelly, feeling he'd been gypped on the sale price, refused to pay Cooper Associates its five percent commission. He sued them for $1 million. The realtors counter sued for commission.

Mr. Kelly argued that knowledge of the sale of Vertigo to Mr. Perot would have helped him bargain a higher price for Caliban.

The two homes together, he maintained, formed a unified and exclusive seven-acre Winsor Beach estate.

Mr. Kelly also argued the Coopers forfeited their right to commission because they broke a contract duty to tell him everything relevant to The realtors countered that: The $2 million Vertigo sale was confidential information between Mr. Perot and then owner Mr. Peter Brent; The $2.5 million price tag for Caliban was the best price they could get for the property, which had been on the market since 1979; The Vertigo sale was a separate transaction, coming one month before the Caliban deal; and The two houses did not form a family compound given their distance apart, the shape of the properties and a right-of-way separating them.

The hearing provided some insight into the behaviour of the legendary entrepreneur. Mrs. Helen Cooper described him as a tough, take-it-or-leave it bargainer. He began his search for a Bermuda home in 1982, and then leased Caliban for a year to "see how Bermuda would work for him.'' After buying Caliban for $2.5 million, the Perot family spent another $2 million renovating and adding to it.

In November, 1988, Puisne Judge the Hon. Mr. Justice Hull found in favour of Mr. Kelly. He awarded him $200,000 in damages, plus the right to keep the $125,000 commission.

The Court of Appeal later reversed the ruling. It also ordered Mr. Kelly to pay all legal costs in the two-year battle.

Mr. Bell said the Privy Council decision would be handed down within the next month.