Solicitor

The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, allowed an appeal by the defendant solicitors’ firm against a finding that it was liable to make a contribution to the claimant surveyor under the Civil Liability (Contribution) Act 1978 in respect of a settlement resulting from a lender’s loss when a borrower defaulted on his remortgage. The solicitors had been under a duty to have told the mortgage lender about the information obtained from the Land Registry that the property had been purchased recently and at a price that suggested strongly that the valuation was excessive, but the surveyor had not proven that the lender would have reacted differently and not advanced the money.