header-logo header-logo

Home Login E-newsletter About us

House trap

© Copyright LexisNexis 2025. All Rights Reserved.
05 July 2018 / Gary Blaker KC , Chris de Beneducci
Issue: 7800 / Categories: Features , Fraud , Property
printer mail-detail
nlj_7800_beneducci

Property imposter fraud: where now for solicitors & estate agents? Gary Blaker QC & Chris de Beneducci investigate

  • Solicitor acting for fraudulent seller now liable for breach of trust.
  • Solicitor acting for innocent purchaser not relieved under s 61 of the Trustee Act 1925.
  • Conveyancing solicitors still benefit from Gran Gelato protection regarding negligence, but warranty of authority is another front of exposure.
  • Estate agents not liable to innocent purchaser in negligence even where no ID checks undertaken.

In P&P Property Ltd v (1) Owen White & Catlin LLP (2) Crownvent Ltd [2018] EWCA Civ 1082, [2018] All ER (D) 124 (May), which was heard alongside Dreamvar (UK) Ltd v (1) Mishcon de Reya (2) Mary Monson Solicitors Ltd earlier this year, the Court of Appeal considered where the loss should fall when a fraudster purports to sell a property which he or she does not own, takes the proceeds upon ‘completion’, and fails to give good title.

The basic facts

On 20 November 2013 Owen White & Catlin

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Read All
Sponsored by
DWF—19 appointments

DWF—19 appointments

Belfast team bolstered by three senior hires and 16 further appointments

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Firm strengthens leveraged finance team with London partner hire

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Double hire marks launch of family team in Leeds

NEWS
Read All
NLJ this week: Trans pool player loses discrimination fight
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve reports on Haynes v Thomson, the first judicial application of the Supreme Court’s For Women Scotland ruling in a discrimination claim, in this week's NLJ
NLJ this week: Fraud claims climb as courts brace for AI threats
Charlie Mercer and Astrid Gillam of Stewarts crunch the numbers on civil fraud claims in the English courts, in this week's NLJ. New data shows civil fraud claims rising steadily since 2014, with the King’s Bench Division overtaking the Commercial Court as the forum of choice for lower-value disputes
NLJ this week: Traders’ convictions quashed in Libor shock
The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
NLJ this week: Small firms call for tech clarity as AI looms
Small law firms want to embrace technology but feel lost in a maze of jargon, costs and compliance fears, writes Aisling O’Connell of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in this week's NLJ
NLJ this week: AI boom collides with courtroom reality
Artificial intelligence may be revolutionising the law, but its misuse could wreck cases and careers, warns Clare Arthurs of Penningtons Manches Cooper in this week's NLJ
Copyright © 2025 LexisNexis
back-to-top-scroll