Burges Salmon has advised a subsidiary of The Co-operative Bank on a successful claim against a conveyancing solicitor who failed to report critical information about the structure of a residential property transaction.
This fully contested trial required expert valuation and lending evidence and legal submissions on the scope of duties owed by solicitors to lenders (and their successors in title) in residential mortgage transactions.
On 7 August 2013, Recorder Leslie Blohm QC (sitting as a judge in Bristol Mercantile Court) awarded the lender its entire loss on the basis of the solicitor’s extensive breaches of fiduciary duty and indemnity costs for the bulk of the proceedings. The judge noted that he “had no doubt whatsoever that [the defendant solicitor] had consciously or recklessly closed his eyes to the dangers of the transaction, which would have been apparent on a moment’s thought.”
Andrew Burnette leads our specialist professional negligence recovery team for our lender clients.