Negligence lawsuit against conveyance firm/solicitor

tinytina

We bought our house 4 years ago, and had issues with the conveyancing firm/solicitor we used.

Now we are switching mortgages to another provider to avail of the low interest rates, and have discovered that many of the steps required to complete the house purchase were not initially taken. It turns out that we are not the registered owners of the house that we are living in.

In the meantime, the previous owners left the country, with unpaid bank loans, and 2 years ago I had a letter from a solicitor telling me that a certain bank now had a registered interest in the property by court order. Unaware that our paperwork was not in order, I contacted them to explain that we had bought the house.

The solicitor we dealt with has left the lawfirm (I believe that they were 'asked' to leave), who claim that (s)he left a lot of unfinished business, and that they have big issues to deal with as a result. They are now, after a face to face meeting, working on resolving the paperwork for us.

I am unhappy with the initial services, that we paid for a service that wasn't completed. I am also unhappy that the firm were aware of issues surrounding this individual's work, and must have been for a long time. I wonder where that leaves us legally with the bank's registered interest - if the house was still in the previous owner's name then surely their registered interest is still legally valid.

Overall I am wondering if it is worth the time, effort and expense of taking a malpractice case against this firm of solicitors, or pursueing the individual?

Sorry for long post!

Mary D

Sounds like a nightmare. I know from experience that this kind of thing happens in 99.9% of law firms and it is only a matter of time before it catches up with the particular firm. Unfortunately I don't see that you have the option to take a case against a soilictor as solicitors will not sue other solicitors (anyone feel free to correct me on this). I think your best option is to write to your Solicitor telling them you want this situation rectified and you also want them to ensure that the interest of the other bank is taken from your Folio, at no cost to you. Set them a deadline to do this. Tell them that you are very stressed by this and if it's not done you will regret to have to write to the Law Society. All Solicitors have professional indemnity cover so their insurance will cover whatever costs are involved in removing the bank's charge and any other costs.

tinytina

Thanks Mary for your reply

Mary D wrote: »

Unfortunately I don't see that you have the option to take a case against a soilictor as solicitors will not sue other solicitors (anyone feel free to correct me on this)

Would it be possible for me to act for myself to do this? And the above is astonishing news to me, doesn't it make the legal profession in Ireland virtually unaccountable?

Mary D

The legal profession in Ireland is a law onto itself. It's much the same with doctors, if you want a doctor's opinion here on a previous opinion given by a doctor you have to go to England to get a doctor who would be willing to give a professional opinion. Of course you could act for yourself, although I would strongly advise that you don't they will run rings around you as they won't take you seriously. If your not getting anywhere with your Solicitor, ring the Law Society and explain what has happened ask for a person's name there who you could write to, the Law Society will look after you and trust me, your Solicitor will be quick to act once the Law Soceity is involved. I note from your first post, you were wondering about going after the individual, you actually employed the firm that assigned the indvidual solicitor to your file so the buck stops with the firm.

juke

Mary D wrote: »

Unfortunately I don't see that you have the option to take a case against a soilictor as solicitors will not sue other solicitors (anyone feel free to correct me on this).

Well - I have done - more than once. I appreciate there may be a reluctance on the part of some to sue a colleague - but there are plenty that will. I believe the Law Society may have a panel of solicitors who are prepared to consider such cases - I may be wrong.

That said, in this instance I think Mary's advice is good advice.

Quaver

Solicitors do sue other Solicitors. Other than that, Mary D's advice is pretty good. I'd say talk to the Company and get them to rectify all problems, at their cost. It's what they have insurance for. If they are not willing to do this, then consult another Solicitor.

Unfortunately, I think we are only seeing the beginning of cases like this, and they will be very much on the rise in my opinion.

servicecharge

All this usual bull above in regards to solicitors, most of it over heard in the pub.

Solicitors sue each other all the time. A firm has to be on the law society panel to do so though. Therefore not every firm can help. Ask the law society for a copy of the panel list.

In relation to the original problem: make a complaint to the law society staight away. If the mortgage wasn't redeemed by the solicitor then you may be entitled to compensation from the law society to pay it off.

The fact that the individual solicitors is gone means nothing, it is the firm that you employed and the firm is responsible for dealing with the issue. I would guess they are tyring to fix the matter as we speak.

Mary D

"In relation to the original problem: make a complaint to the law society staight away. If the mortgage wasn't redeemed by the solicitor then you may be entitled to compensation from the law society to pay it off."

I don't think she was saying that the mortgage wasn't redeemed. In any case that wouldn't be her Solicitor's problem, that would have been the responsibility of the Solicitor who acted for the people she bought the house from. I think what Tina is saying is that these people left the country without paying other bank loans and as her Solicitor didn't register her a the owner, the Folio still showed the previous owners as owners still. So when the bank looked to registered a charge against them they did so thinking they still owned the property. Am I right Tina?

servicecharge

What ever the actual problem is she may be entitled to compensation from the law society to remedy the problem. And as a law firm they are insured for such things.

I'm more inclined to think the bank had judgments registered against the house for failure to pay their debts. As the house was still registered in the old names the judgment are now on the poster's house.

leitrim lad

i have had a very big bad expierence with a solicitor lately and the law soceity are all for themselves ,or so it seem to me, so i just went to another solicitor the other side of the country and they were glad to sort out matters for me and also follow the previous solicitor for damages on my behalf, it will cost me but they are pushing to get the first solicitor struck off for me , now there was a huge amount of money involved and the first solicitor purposely delayed the matter and then messed it up to drain me dry , but you can also voice your opinion on the solicitor [SNIPPED]

Tom Young

Locked - Talk to the Law Society or a solicitor you know. Average chance you know someone who can advise or take a case.

Remember folks: Not all legal practitioners are bad or negligent. A few bad apples can spoil the entire crop.