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23 November 2012 / Adrian Kwintner
Issue: 7539 / Categories: Features , Professional negligence
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The blame game

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Adrian Kwintner reviews causation defences in mortgage lender claims

Recent cases on lender claims have seen professionals rely on causation defences to escape liability despite clear breaches of their duties. These cases vividly demonstrate that even where negligence is established, the lender must still show that it would have acted differently had it been properly advised by the defendant. Otherwise, the claim will fail. Although the cases were decided on very specific facts, they provide welcome news for solicitors and surveyors, and their insurers, facing a torrent of lender claims over recent years.

Surveyors saved by underlying fraud

The High Court case of Platform Funding Ltd v Anderson & Associates Ltd [2012] EWHC 1853 (QB) arose out of a large fraud between 2005 and 2006 in which a Mr Barrie had purchased all 84 flats in a new development at a significant reduction. He then sold the flats on to sub-prime borrowers at prices significantly above the market price. Valuers were misled into providing over-valuations using false comparable data manufactured by Barrie. The

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Fresh proposals to criminalise ‘nudification’ apps, prioritise cyberflashing and non-consensual intimate images, and even ban under-16s from social media have reignited debate over whether the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is fit for purpose. Writing in NLJ this week, Alexander Brown, head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Alexandra Webster, managing associate, Simmons & Simmons, caution against reactive law-making that could undermine the Act’s ‘risk-based and outcomes-focused’ design
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