Katherine Rees examines risks arising from property transactions
I suspect that, if you were to ask a lawyer in the throes of a large transaction what part of the deal featured in their nightmares, he or she would be most spooked by the fear of getting the intricacies of a complex provision wrong.
However, as recent cases have shown, claims are just as likely to arise from oversights or simple (but potentially expensive) mistakes as they are from subtle errors of legal analysis or judgment.
The economic crisis gives rise to its own particular claims, specifically those brought by lenders against solicitors and valuers, which tend to centre round the professional’s alleged failure to report information which would have affected the decision to lend.
While those claims abound, the more traditional claims against property lawyers also continue. Indeed, they look set to increase as mistakes made in the good times come to light during the downturn.
In this article I have selected three perennial sources of problems for solicitors which the courts have had to address: undertakings, overage clauses and the “exclusionary rule” in construction
