We win negligence claim against accountant after our client’s previous solicitors turned her case down.
This is a case study of a negligence claim against an accountant that we have successfully concluded after we took the matter over from our client’s previous solicitors who told her she didn’t have a case.
The accountant’s negligence claim
Based in the North East of England, our client owned a property with her bankrupt partner. His Trustee in Bankruptcy wanted to seize and sell the property to pay off debts. In order to keep her home, our client asked her partner’s accountants for assistance.
The accountants negotiated terms of settlement with the trustee in bankruptcy on her behalf, but forgot to check with her partner’s mortgagee about their charge over the property. If they had done so, they would have realised that there was no value in her partner’s share due to negative equity. They could have invited the Trustee to waive his interest in the house. Instead, she paid many tens of thousands of pounds to buy out the Trustee.
Original solicitors turn the claim down
The accountants refused to co-operate with the subsequent professional negligence claim against them, ignoring correspondence and then saying they had destroyed their file. Our client made a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office but the accountants continued to maintain that the papers had been destroyed or that they had never acted for her. As a result of this, her solicitors, who had been appointed to represent her under the terms of her Legal Expenses Insurance policy, concluded there was little merit in the claim and the risk of litigation was too high. They therefore said there was nothing they could do to help.
Slee Blackwell take the negligence claim on
Emma Slade who heads up our professional negligence claim team disagreed with the other solicitor’s assessment of the case. She not only agreed to take the case on but to work on a no-win, no-fee basis. Despite the lack of paperwork, Emma was convinced there was enough evidence to support a professional negligence claim.
After much hard work, tenacity and perseverance from Emma, the accountants and their insurers agreed to attend a mediation. This resulted in a compensation settlement being reached.
Client pleased with her success
Our client was very pleased with the outcome of her claim, thanking Emma and the team for their help:
“The real compensation is knowing that I was right. After everything, the money is fine but it feels better to be believed and acknowledged.”
