Expert Witness Journal Issue 66 April 2026 - Flipbook - Page 74
Hope had su昀昀ered no actionable loss as a result of
the negligence and therefore the claim for damages
by Hope was dismissed.
value a property. If the valuation falls outside the
accepted parameters for that particular property
there may be a breach of contract. Only if there is
direct 昀椀nancial loss resulting from that breach will
there be grounds for a claim for damages resulting
from professional negligence.
The experts for both sides gave evidence that
an exit strategy for the lender is a fundamental
consideration in any lending decision particularly
if it involves, as it usually does, the sale of the
property. In this case there was no basis to consider
that the a change to residential use for the property
would have been a viable option as the owner was a
company and residential use would only be granted
to an individual. The borrower, Mr Pieri’s company,
had a poor his credit rating and doubts about his
ability to achieve the conversion and the honesty of
his application left the Claimant in a weak position
given the lack of investigation prior to the loan
being granted. Both expert agreed that the lending
had been imprudent as a minimum. The problems
were then made worser by the lack of supervision of
the going construction works.
In this case, both the experts were sourced from
Expert Evidence International Limited. Expert
Evidence prides itself on assisting throughout the
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昀椀rm concentrating on the four main areas of dispute
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advised
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What seems and
clear ishas
that this
is not the
of thisrecent cases.
Areas of specialisation include banking, lending,
regulation, investment, and tax.
Reference
[2025] EWHC 2364 (Comm)
Hope Capital Ltd v Alexander Reece Thompson LLP [2023]
EWHC 2389 KB
If it had come to a decision of contributory
negligence, the Judge said that such were the failings
on both sides that, should he have to have made a
determination, he would have set the 昀椀gure at 50%.
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This case is important in that it underlines the
established principle that a duty of care is owed by
a surveyor to the lender who has instructed him to
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EXPERT WITNESS JOURNAL
72
APRIL 2026
