Actions were brought to enforce undertakings given by solicitors to redeem mortgages on the sale of properties, and as to redemption figures provided by lenders who then refused to release the properties. The solicitors had replied to standard form enquiries and confirmed that they acted as the lenders’ agents.
Held: The solicitors had no real prospect of defending a claim for enforcement of the undertakings. Summary judgment was granted. The Court was not to be required to conduct an inquiry as to the loss suffered by the addressee of the undertakings as the result of their breach. It was enough that the undertakings had been given.
Hodge QC J
[2009] EWHC 46 (Ch), Times 10-Mar-2009, [2009] 1 WLR 1220, [2009] 14 EG 88, [2009] NPC 9, [2009] 1 EGLR 71, [2009] PNLR 19, [2009] 4 EG 116 (CS)
Bailii
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Geoffrey Silver and Drake v Baines (trading as Wetherfield Baines and Baines) (a firm) CA 1971
The court’s summary jurisdiction over solicitors is extraordinary, and therefore should only be exercised sparingly (i) if justice requires this procedure to be adopted, as opposed to some other procedure.
There is a recognised jurisdiction to . .
Cited – Fox (John) v Bannister, King and Rigbeys CA 1987
The court considered whether it remained appropriate to enforce a solicitor’s undertaking. The solicitor had undertaken to retain moneys as a potential source of payment of a disputed liability, which had then been breached by the wrongful release . .
Cited – Udall v Capri Lighting Ltd (in liquidation) CA 1987
A claim was made for the price of goods sold and delivered. The defendant’s solicitor gave an oral undertaking to his counterpart to procure the execution by directors of his client company of charges over their homes in return for an adjournment . .
Cited – L Morgan and Co v Jenkins O’Dowd and Barth 19-Nov-2008
Blackburne J had previously made an order compelling the Defendants to perform undertakings to redeem mortgages over three residential flats which they had given in the course of acting as solicitors for the sellers of those flats. A dispute had . .
Cited – In re Gray 1901
The tenant of a mine was liable to pay the landlord’s costs of the grant of the lease. The tenant’s liability was based on custom, which required the tenant to pay the costs of drawing, settling and completing the lease. The tenant asked for an . .
Cited – Myers v Elman HL 1939
The solicitor had successfully appealed against an order for a contribution to the other party’s legal costs, after his clerk had filed statements in court which he knew to be misleading. The solicitor’s appeal had been successful.
Held: The . .
Cited – Taylor and Taylor v Ribby Hall Leisure Limited and North West Leisure Holdings Limited CA 6-Aug-1997
In supervisory proceedings against lawyers, claims of abuse of process are to be pursued at the substantive hearing and not by way of pre-emptive applications. Delay in bringing an application to enforce a solicitor’s undertaking can be relevant to . .
Cited by:
Cited – Thames Valley Housing Association Ltd and Others v Elegant Homes (Guernsey) Ltd and Others ChD 27-Oct-2009
The claimant sought to enforce against the defendant’s solicitors an undertaking given by them. The claimant contracted to buy property subject to a charge in favour of the third defendant bank securing loans over other property. The bank gave no . .
Cited – Clark and Another v Lucas Solicitors Llp ChD 31-Jul-2009
The claimants sought an order (by summary judgment) against the defendant firm of solicitors to require them to perform an undertaking they had given to provide evidence of the discharge of a mortgage. The defendants said the proper remedy was by an . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Legal Professions
Updated: 01 November 2021; Ref: scu.280045