A new online complaints portal, being launched by the Legal Ombudsman, will make it easier for lawyers to manage complaints in one place. Consumers will be encouraged to manage their complaints through the portal enabling them easily to keep track…read more
Six year limit on negligence claims against sub-contractors decides court
A high court judge has decided that negligence claims against construction sub-contractors must be made within six years of the faulty work being handed over. Previously there was authority for claims to be allowed for potentially up to 18 years…read more
London firm defends £1.9m negligence claim
A London law firm has successfully defended a negligence claim from a client by arguing that its retainer was limited to legal rather than commercial issues. The case involved the sale of a commercial property to a developer where the…read more
ABI warns MPs about pension guidance regime
Pension providers must ask applicants questions about matters that could materially affect the value of their pensions the Association of British Insurers (ABI) has told MPs. These include information about financial dependants, health and inflation risk.The Pension Scheme Bill public…read more
Liability for Architects Certificates overturned by Appeal Court
A firm of architects has been found not to be liable to purchasers of flats who said they relied on Architects’ Certificates when buying their properties – even though the flats were subsequently found to be sub-standard. The decision in the…read more
No duty for brokers to challenge instructions
The Commercial Court has dismissed a multi-million negligence claim against an insurance broker. The judge decided that a broker has no duty to challenge a client’s instructions if it has no reason to doubt the accuracy of the information provided….read more
Lawyers to be banned from offering incentives to personal injury claimants
Legislation has been introduced to ban lawyers from offering incentives to personal injury claimants Gifts of iPads and upfront ‘welcome’ payments have been made by some law firms in exchange for pursuing personal injury claims with their firm. The move…read more
Surveyor wins another Merrett v Babb negligence claim
An attempt to make a valuation surveyor personally liable for losses resulting from a property survey has failed. The decision in Mavis Russell v Walker & Co, Robert Chisnall and others further reduces the impact of the decision in Merrett…read more
Capita moves to make advisers liable for Arch cru failings
Failings by Capita Financial Managers in administering Arch cru funds could be partly blamed on advisers following a surprise legal move. Capita is being sued by over 1,000 investors for over £36 million, following the collapse of the fund manager…read more
Technology and Construction Court offers guidance for project monitoring surveyors
Building materials used a security for a loan must be properly checked and certified by Project Monitoring Surveyors (PMS). If not, they face the risk of being liable to the lender if the security subsequently proves ineffective. Surveyors, Faithful &…read more
