Solicitors not responsible for stressed clients

Solicitors conducting litigation do not assume liability for the stress imposed on their clients, the High Court has held.

Delivering judgment in Guney v Kingsley Napley [2016] EWHC 2349 (QB), Mrs Justice McGowan criticised the claimant, Gonul Guney, for bringing a “regrettable” professional liability claim against her family’s solicitors in a wills dispute.

Guney argued that she could have settled the claim at an earlier date had she been properly advised, and claimed damages for stress and inconvenience as well as losses. She said she was not claiming for personal injury, but “for physical consequences arising out of a breach of contract”.

Kingsley Napley called for the claims surrounding stress and inconvenience to be struck out.

Ruling in favour of Kingsley Napley, McGowan J said: “This was a not a contract for the provision of a holiday, a pleasurable activity relaxation or peace of mind.

“This was a contract to act in relation to a family dispute over inheritance matters. It is too remote to say that solicitors conducting litigation assume liability for the stresses that that imposes on the litigants involved. It is difficult to imagine what would happen to litigation if there was such a general duty.”