Professional Negligence

Architects owed a duty of care to occupiers of premises in respect of latent defects in a gutter drainage system despite a previous flood having occurred as a result of the same defect. The decision in Baxall & Norbain v Sheard & Ors [2002] BLR 100 is authority for one or other of the following pri......

Where a company had transferred on a voluntary basis companies that were subject to potential capital gains tax charges which were said to arise from the professional negligence of accountants, the subsequent assignment of the company's cause of action was not valueless. Accordingly an amendment su......

In a surveyors' negligence case, the Defendant's expert gave new evidence orally at trial as to the stability of roof trusses which formed the basis for the judge's finding that there was no defect in the roof. There was no procedural irregularity in allowing such evidence where the Claimant's ......

Procedure Roll:- The pursuer in this action was the executor nominate of Isabella Urquhart who died on 22 October 2005. As a firm of solicitors the defenders succeeded to the liabilities of the former partnership of Hunter & Robertson. In this action the pursuer sought damages as executor of ......

Appeal by way of petition against a decision of the Scottish Solicitors Discipline Tribunal under section 54(1) of the Solicitors (Scotland) Act 1980. The decision in question related to a prior finding by the first respondents to the effect that the petitioners had provided an inadequate professio......

Where a sole practitioner had engaged a specialist firm to assist in respect of a discretionary trust, the retainer of the specialist firm was not limited to the drafting of the trust document. Without any express written limitation as to the retainer the specialist firm should have provided advic......

Where a Claimant knows that his cause of action is vested in a third party then his issue of a claim is an abuse of process even where he hopes and expects to obtain a valid assignment of the cause of action and the purpose of issue was to avoid the cause of action becoming statute barred. ......

Surveyors: A surveyor would in a normal retainer be under an inherent obligation to inspect and value the right property such that inspection and valuation of a completely different property would be a breach of contract even when this mistake had arisen without any breach of the duty of care. Addi......

Summary judgment on the issues of breach of contract and breach of duty was granted in a claim by a mortgage lender against a firm of solicitor which had failed to report a restrictive covenant that might reasonably be expected to be material in the sense of adversely affecting the value of the pro......

In a professional negligence claim the court was asked to issue the claim form and return it to the claimant's solicitors for service, who had indicated to the claimant that they were authorised for service. Instead the claim form was sent to the defendant's business address. The service on......

A judge had been correct to dismiss a claimant's claim for professional negligence against a firm of solicitors because it was debarred by the limitation period which ran from the date of knowledge in 2005 which was when the claimant's absestosis was confirmed. ......

Leading and junior Counsel successfully challenged a first instance finding that that they should have advised as to the potential expiry of a limitation period because although the lower court had identified the correct legal test in its application the judge had instead applied his own view as t......

The defence of legal advice privilege did not extend to legal advice provided by accountants. ......

In proceeding to hear part of the cross-examination of the accountant in the temporary absence of a panel member, the disciplinary tribunal had breached the rules of natural justice and fairness. However the accountant had waived the right to object and was bound by that waiver. ......

The claimant challenged decisions of the Professional Conduct Committee (PCC) of the General Medical Council (GMC) that the applicant was guilty of serious professional misconduct and his name be erased from the medical register. The claimant sought judicial review of the decision. The issue was wh......

Despite the Court concluding that the solicitor advocate had conducted the proceedings unreasonably and negligently and that they were doomed to failure no order for wasted costs would be made where the consequences would be the possibility of the solicitor advocate being made bankrupt. ......

The intervenor claimed damages from the Claimant estate and its solicitors for trespass and conversion by sequestrators in respect of enforcement of a writ of sequestration which had extended to its assets which had subsequently been set aside. ......