Negligence claims 'must differ from disputes' - Solicitors Professional Indemnity (PI) Insurance
27/08/2008
Claims of negligence made against solicitors must differ from the underlying dispute from which they arise, it has been asserted.
Legal practice Barlow Lyde & Gilbert explains that recent court rulings have supported such a viewpoint, reports mondaq.
"Bringing proceedings against a solicitor for negligence which allege matters that are different from those decided in the underlying dispute is not enough to bring the administration of justice into disrepute," comment article authors Andrew Blair and Zoe Millington-Jones.
Their observations are based on the 2007 case of Taylor Walton v Laing, in which the Court of Appeal dismissed a negligence claim on the grounds that it was an abuse of process.
Instead, the court suggested that allegations of negligence should have been made during the initial dispute process and not as part of a separate case.
By bringing the negligence claim separately, the court claimed that what was fundamentally the same issue would have been re-litigated.
The Times previously reported that the case had created concern that issues might be re-litigated, with an associated increase in Solicitors Indemnity Insurance premiums.
PYV's claims director, Robert Bass emphasised that a separate cause of action, involving a disparate negligent act or breach of duty is clearly necessary to bring a claim against a professional.
"The simple fact of an action failing against one party does not mean that another is to blame; it is necessary to demonstrate real culpability lies elsewhere," he added.
Click here for more information about Solicitors Indemnity Insurance.
PYV are one of the UK's leading providers of professional indemnity insurance. This news article has been produced by Adfero in collaboration with PYV and its unauthorised use is not permitted.
(c) 2008 Adfero Ltd.
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