The claimant wished to purchase an underlease from the first defendant. The claimant’s solicitors inquired of the second defendants, a firm of solicitors acting for the first defendant, whether any provisions in the headlease might affect the length of the underlease. The negative answer of the second defendants was a misrepresentation, which, following its purchase of the underlease, caused loss to the claimant.
Held: The claimant had a valid claim against the first defendant but that the second defendants, the solicitors, had themselves owed no duty of care to it.
Only in special cases, such as the Allied Finance case, would a solicitor owe a duty of care to the opposite party and that there was nothing special about the case before him.
The word ‘right’ may have a wider meaning than an accrued right.
Sir Donald Nicholls V-C
Gazette 13-May-1992, [1992] Ch 560, [1992] 1 All ER 865
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – DP Mann and others v Coutts and Co ComC 16-Sep-2003
The claimants were involved in litigation, They took certain steps on the understanding that the respondents had had deposited with them substantial sums in accounts under binding authorities. The bank had written a letter upon which they claim they . .
Cited – Sykes and Another v Taylor-Rose and Another CA 27-Feb-2004
The appellants purchased a property from the respondents. The house had been the site of a partiularly horrendous murder in 1980, but the respondents did not disclose the fact.
Held: The doctrine of caveat emptor still had application. As . .
Cited – First National Commercial Bank Plc v Loxleys (a Firm) CA 6-Nov-1996
The plaintiff claimed damages from the seller of land and from their solicitors for misrepresentation in the replies to enquiries before contract. He appealed a striking out of his claim.
Held: A lawyer’s disclaimer placed on his Replies to . .
Cited – Steel and Another v NRAM Ltd (Formerly NRAM Plc) SC 28-Feb-2018
The appellant solicitor acted in a land transaction. The land was mortgaged to the respondent bank. She wrote to the bank stating her client’s intention to repay the whole loan. The letter was negligently mistaken and the bankers allowed the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Legal Professions, Professional Negligence
Updated: 12 January 2022; Ref: scu.186285