The plaintiff asked the defendant solicitor to act for him in the purchase of a leasehold house. The solicitor was also asked to act for the vendor. The replies he gave, innocently, on behalf of the vendor were inaccurate as to the conditions of the tenancies. The buyer eventually had to repay overcharged rents to the tenants.
Held: The defendant was liable in that he had not questioned the vendor’s answers, but had simply relayed them. In a contract for the sale of land the buyer’s solicitor has a duty to make appropriate enquiries, and where these reveal some encumbrance, to pursue those enquiries. Once contracts have been exchanged, he remains under a duty to request confirmation of the replies given.
[1956] 1 WLR 448, [1956] 2 All ER 11, [1956] Sol Jo 320
England and Wales
Land, Contract, Professional Negligence
Leading Case
Updated: 09 November 2021; Ref: scu.219178