Professional liability, Insolvency, Trusts, probate and estates: contentiousTuesday 5 November 2024
On 4 November 2024, the High Court dismissed the claim made in Blower v GH Canfields LLP [2024] EWHC 2763 (Ch), a professional negligence claim also involving trusts and insolvency issues.
Jonathan Seitler KC and Lemuel Lucan-Wilson (instructed by Womble Bond Dickinson) acted for the successful defendant, which was alleged to have been negligent in their conduct of a mediation of claims brought by a trustee in bankruptcy against family members of the bankrupt. The defendant had acted for the family members, and was said to have “over-settled” the claims on the basis that those claims would have been unsuccessful and/or the claimant could have set-off against them.
His Honour Judge Paul Matthews KC found that the defendant firm had at all times provided the correct advice regarding the strength of the claims which the claimant had been facing, noting that the set-off now claimed could not have operated on the facts in any event, nor could the trust interests have operated as the claimant submitted at trial. The Court also found that the claimant had failed to set-off her case on causation in the pleadings – simply stating what she would not have done, but then not setting out what she would have done or what would have happened (the claimant expressly rejecting the application of the loss of a chance doctrine).
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