Now that the dust has settled on Guide Dogs for the Blind v Box, Alexander Learmonth QC explains why it is good news for both consumers & solicitors
- The Supreme Court has rejected the indemnity insurers’ appeal in Guide Dogs for the Blind v Box, after the Court of Appeal ruled that the insurers could not aggregate claims for compensation against a firm of solicitors following the theft of client funds over many years.
- The decision confirms that insurers will not be able to limit their liability in circumstances where a solicitor has committed the same kind of infraction on a number of occasions.
Also known as Baines v Dixon Coles & Gill, last year’s Court of Appeal decision in Guide Dogs for the Blind Association and others v Box and others [2021] EWCA Civ 1211, [2022] 2 All ER 1032 generated considerable interest among solicitors generally, and the professional negligence and indemnity insurance community in particular. Now, the Supreme Court has dismissed the insurers’ application for permission to appeal that decision, and the important point
