Negligence case against solicitors struck out

The High Court has struck out a professional negligence claim against Knights Professional Services and three other defendants, in a case which should warn claimants bringing professional negligence claims against legal professionals not to take a very broad approach, or a lax approach to complying with the court's rules.

The case of Morris v Knights Professional Services

Mr Morris is a qualified solicitor who brought professional negligence proceedings against Knights and other defendants. The claim involved the sale of shares in a care home, which were valued at £16 million in 2006. Mr Morris alleged that the defendants had provided him with negligent legal advice. 

The claim was issued in 2019 and the trial was listed to take place in May 2026. The court had ordered Mr Morris to file a bundle prior to the trial, but he had failed to meet the court's requirements and strict rules regarding the preparation of trial bundles, and a hearing had to be adjourned. 

The court therefore issued an "unless order", saying that unless Mr Morris provided the court and the defendants with a properly prepared trial bundle, his claims would be struck out. Mr Morris failed to comply with the order, and the judge struck out his claims. 

Mr Morris made an application for an extension of time for complying with the court's unless order and for relief from sanctions, which was dealt with at the same time. However, this was unsuccessful. The judge found that Mr Morris had:

• breached the unless order in that he had not prepared a proper trial bundle;
• produced a defective list of documents earlier in the proceedings; and
• not completed the disclosure of documents exercise properly. 

The judge was unsatisfied with the explanations that Mr Morris gave for his failures and described Mr Morris as having a "whac-a-mole" approach to dealing with filing court documents. 

There will be another hearing, at which Mr Morris will almost certainly be ordered to pay a large proportion of the defendants' costs.

How to bring a successful professional negligence claim

Bringing a professional negligence claim against a firm of solicitors can be daunting, as they have the legal knowledge and expertise at their fingertips to defend with your case, as well as having the benefit of their own legal advice through their professional indemnity insurers. 

However, there are steps you can take to ensure that your professional negligence claim has as good a prospect of succeeding as possible:

1. Obtain a copy of your solicitors' file to ensure that you have all of the evidence you require;
2. Make a complaint using the firm's complaints procedure, if there are aspects of the service which you were not happy with and then refer the matter to the Legal Ombudsman if you are not satisfied with the firm's response. You should be careful about accepting any resolution proposed by the Ombudsman at this stage, as this could affect your ability to bring a separate claim for compensation;
3. Send the firm of solicitors a letter of claim which complies with every aspect of the pre action protocol for professional negligence;
4. Once you have a response to your letter of claim, you will be able to decide whether you want to negotiate a settlement with the solicitors firm, or take the matter to court;
5. If you decide that you want to settle, it is often a good idea to take legal advice to ensure you have valued your claim correctly, otherwise you run the risk of settling for too little, as well as using the services of a professional mediator to make sure that any agreement reached is binding on all parties;
6. If the solicitors do not make you a satisfactory offer, you will need to issue a claim in court if you want to pursue your case further. At this stage, you should seek expert legal advice (if you have not done so already) about the prospects of success of your case, and the level of damages you are likely to recover, and so that your claim is started with the correct documents in the right court; and
7. Once proceedings have been issued, it is vital that you comply with any directions given by the court, as well as any rules for the preparation of court documents (such as your claim documents, witness evidence and trial bundles), otherwise you run the risk of your claim being struck out and being ordered to pay your opponent's costs.

Get legal help to sue a solicitor

Samuels Solicitors LLP, with offices in the South West and Newcastle, have an enviable reputation for dealing with claims against solicitors over numerous decades. We have successfully sued countless negligent solicitors, obtaining significant sums in compensation and legal costs for our clients. 

Whilst suing a lawyer can be daunting, there is no reason why you should not have a successful outcome, if you have a  valid claim and expert legal advice,

If you are looking for legal help to sue a negligent solicitor, we can help you. Contact us today to speak to one of our experienced legal professionals.