A client of a large UK law firm has recovered over £150,000 in damages after being given negligent advice about a lease. LSREF III Wight Ltd v Gateley LLP [2016] EWCA Civ 359 The solicitors Gateley LLP were instructed by a subsidiary of Anglo Irish Bank (the Bank) to prepare a report on title in relation to property being offered to the Bank by the Bank’s borrower as security for a loan of up to £1.1m. The loan was to be used by the borrower to pay for development of a building in Leicester (the Property) into commercial premises with ... Read More >
Wrong plan costs solicitor over £200,000
In the recently reported case of Mansion Estates Ltd v Hayre & Co (a firm) [2016] EWHC 96 (Ch) the High Court in Leeds ordered a solicitor, who had used the wrong plan in a property transaction, to pay substantial damages to a client. In late 2006 the Claimant instructed the Defendant firm of solicitors, Hayre & Co (the Solicitor) to act on its behalf in the purchase of land at 60 to 64 Toller Lane, Bradford for £1.7million. The Solicitor was also instructed to act in the simultaneous sale of part of that land, 60 Toller Lane, by ... Read More >
Solicitor failed to advise about planning permission
Did your conveyancing solicitor fail to advise you about a planning permission issue affecting a property you bought? If so, you may be entitled to compensation, although perhaps not as much as the £1.5million recovered by the claimant in the the recent High Court case of Orientfield Holdings Ltd v Bird & Bird LLP [2015] EWHC 1963 (Ch) (26 June 2015) who agreed to buy for over £25million the house pictured below, which it turned out was affected by a significant planning permission issue. In that case, after contacts were exchanged ... Read More >
Bad legal advice costs negligent solicitors over £2 million
Compensation for bad legal advice varies according to the loss or damage that a client has suffered as a result. For highflying sports entrepreneur Timothy Wright, the consequences of bad legal advice were significant. A slip-up by his solicitors - London firm Lewis Silkin - cost him the chance of recovering over £10 million from his former employer. His six-year battle for compensation for professional negligence climaxed recently at a six-day trial at the High Court in London, when he was awarded over £2 million in damages. The ... Read More >
Solicitors ombudsman latest facts and figures
Solicitors ombudsman latest facts and figures The latest annual report from the solicitors ombudsman will be of interest to anyone who is unsure how best to go about recovering losses they have suffered as a result of a solicitor’s negligence. It has always been the case that a client who has lost out financially as a result of his or her solicitor’s negligence can make a breach of contract or negligence claim, through the courts if necessary. For many years however, victims of poor service from solicitors that had not caused any ... Read More >
Conveyancing solicitor failed to tell client about planning condition
Bacciottini & Anor v Goldsmith [2014] EWHC 3527 – claimant purchased property for development purposes – claimant’s solicitor failed to report planning restriction – property worth £100,000 less with planning restriction – after purchase claimant successfully applied to remove planning condition – whether claimant entitled to difference in value In May 2007, Mr Bacciottini purchased three barns and five acres of land on Snape Hall estate in Suffolk for £575,000. One barn had been converted into a cottage some time before 2007, planning ... Read More >
Claim against solicitors by disappointed client
Claim against solicitors by disappointed litigant – Dowling v Bennett Griffin [2014] EWCA Civ 1545 – solicitors acted for claimant in negligence claim against architect – uninsured architect unable to pay most of claimant’s legal costs and damages – solicitors not negligent for not applying for court order requiring architect to provide evidence of insurance. Litigation can be expensive, especially if an opponent fights the case. The winning party obviously wants to recover his legal costs, and any damages (or debt) the losing party is ... Read More >
Client wins £64,000 after employment solicitors mistake
Solicitors mistakes vary in degree of fault, from everyday minor mistakes, such as misspelling a word, to the most serious, such as missing a deadline. But contrary to popular belief, a client is not automatically entitled to compensation when a solicitor has made a mistake, even when the error is grave. To determine if a client can recover damages from his solicitor, regard must be had not only to the degree of fault but also to the consequences of it. As this month’s High Court decision in the solicitor's negligence case of Chweidan v ... Read More >
Conveyancing negligence claims – not out of the woods yet
Conveyancing negligence claims - not out of the woods yet Conveyancing negligence claims against solicitors increased dramatically in recent years, as they always do during a recession, when property prices fall. Now that property prices appear to have recovered in most of England and Wales, it would be natural to assume that the number of claims for negligent conveyancing should fall away to pre-recession levels. Although that is what happened after previous recessions, this time round it may not, as solicitors struggle to cope with the ... Read More >
£270k claim struck out after solicitors miss deadline
Claim struck out - solicitors failed to serve Particulars of Claim in time - Defendant applied to strike out claim - order striking out claim - Associated Electrical Industries Ltd v Alstom UK [2014] EWHC 430 Legal claims can be struck out by courts for many different reasons. So can Defences, and parts of Claims and Defences. The consequences of striking out are often serious: a struck out claimant loses the chance of recovering what he or she is claiming, usually a debt or damages and his or her legal costs; a struck out defendant ... Read More >