E.Surv negligence claim: Professional negligence lawyer Lee Dawkins, looks at judicial criticism of the “tick box” approach adopted by E.Surv in a recent surveyors’ negligence claim against the company.
The courts have given further guidance on the approach to be taken in negligent mortgage valuation cases.
E.Surv, the UK’s largest firm of residential surveyors, was found to have been negligent in carrying out two mortgage valuations. In giving his judgment, Mr Justice Coulson criticised E.Surv for blindly following the lender’s “tick box” form.
The lender, GMAC, was described as being wedded to “tick box” forms for every aspect of their business. So when the valuation surveyor from E.Surv was confronted with such a form he was required to consider how his obligations to take “reasonable care” and comply with RICS guidance could best be achieved.
The answer, according to the judge, is that if a surveyor is unable to discharge his legal obligations to the lender without adding words to the form or submitting it with a covering letter then he should do so, regardless of the lender’s own guidance notes and systems.
By simply ticking the boxes as required by the lender and leaving it at that, the mortgage valuation was deemed to be negligent and compensation was awarded against the surveyor.
We specialise in professional negligence claims against surveyors and valuers on a no win, no fee basis where the negligence has resulted in the client suffering loss exceeding £10,000. If you require guidance on making an E.Surv negligence claim or details of No Win, No Fee funding then call our free legal helpline on 0333 888 0404. Alternatively, you can email brief details of your claim to us at [email protected].
