Professional Negligence solicitor Emma Semwayo looks back on a recent case where a solicitors was found liable for £2M for a breach of duty.
International law firm Bird & Bird in mid-2015 lost a professional negligence dispute after failing to advise their former client, Orientfield Holdings, of a planning application close to a £25M property. The property, in St John’s Wood, London, was in fact in the same street as a new academy school which had received full planning permission and was due to be six stories in height and take up to 1400 students.
Whilst Bird & Bird did obtain a planning report showing the existence of the development, they didn’t properly advise their client about it and Orientfield signed a contract to buy the property with a deposit of £2.5M. Once Orientfield knew of the other property’s existence they stopped the contract and the vendors brought a claim to keep the deposit. Matters were resolved with the vendor but Orientfield then pursued Bird & Bird for half of the deposit and other costs.
It was found by the Court that Bird & Bird failed to provide Orientfield with the planning report. It was their duty to inform their client of its contents as it may have an effect on the client’s decision making processes and that they had a duty to inform them. His Honour Judge Mark Pelling QC commented “It was a breach of duty to say, as was said, that the information provided did not reveal anything that adversely affects the property.” The construction of the school was seen as an adverse issue that acted against proceeding.
At Applebys we have seen an increasing number of examples of this type where solicitors either fail to undertake searches or fail to highlight their results to prospective purchasers. The client in this case was an offshore company however, many of the cases we deal with involve private individuals purchasing a home. These types of failings by solicitors can lead to devastating and costly consequences.
For help in dealing with property negligence issues regarding conveyancing and breach of contract please contact Emma Semwayo for a free initial discussion at emma.semwayo@applebys-law.co.uk or by phone on 0800 169 1325.