Professional Negligence

• Cases
• Publications

In professional negligence and the related field of professional discipline, Maitland is experienced in acting for both claimants and defendants, with particular expertise in the fields of financial services, accountancy and auditing, property surveying and valuation, and the law.

Our work in the accountancy field includes claims in relation to negligent advice, audit work, business and share valuations, compliance with regulatory requirements and disciplinary proceedings (for example in BCCI, Astra, Equitable Life and Barings). Our work in the legal field includes cases concerning the negligent advice of solicitors and barristers, their mismanagement of litigation and of commercial transactions, and errors in the drafting of all types of legal documentation. We are also experienced in assisting with related disciplinary actions by the relevant professional legal bodies, including the Solicitors Regulation Authority, the Law Society and the Bar Standards Board.

We act for and against other professionals, including management consultants, architects, those regulated under the Financial Services and Markets Act and actuaries.

Significant cases include:

• Target Holdings v Redferns - leading House of Lords case on breach of trust by solicitors
• Scullion v Bank of Scotland plc - leading case on valuers’ duty of care in negligence
• Platform Home Loans v Bank of Scotland – important Court of Appeal decision on strict liability of a valuer for breach of warranty in relation to an inspection certificate
• Redbus v Jeffrey Green & Russell - where the costs of litigation were sought to be recovered as damages in a negligence action, the appropriate method of assessment was the amount that would be awarded on assessment by a costs judge on the standard basis
• the TAG coverage dispute
• Equitable Life (both the High Court negligence action and disciplinary proceedings)
• claims brought by the liquidators of BCCI (against PriceWaterhouse UK) and of Barings (against Coopers & Lybrand)
• Nationwide BS v Balmer Radmore – landmark case on solicitors’ duties: claimant building society brought a large number of claims against its former conveyancing solicitors who had acted for it on residential mortgage transactions

Maitland is ranked in Professional Negligence in Chambers UK and Legal 500.