Expert Witness Journal Issue 63 October 2025 - Flipbook - Page 69
Rayner My Parade! The Importance
Of Specialist Advice.
by Jemma Brimblecombe - jbrimblecombe@kingsleynapley.co.uk
Elliot Grosvenor-Taylor - EGrosvenor-Taylor@kingsleynapley.co.uk
In her resignation letter, Ms Rayner said that she
“deeply regrets” her decision not to seek “additional
specialist tax advice” over her purchase of her Hove
property.
Causation
Once it has been established that there was a breach
of duty, it must also be proven that the loss su昀昀ered
was caused by the negligent act or advice. This is
commonly referred to as “causation”.
However, given stamp duty land tax is a complex
area, what if the advice she had received had been
wrong? For anyone buying or selling a property it
is important to be aware of the general principles
and the necessary next steps if they suspect that
they have been poorly or negligently advised by a
professional. IFAs may also sometimes be the ones
to spot a potential problem.
The relevant test is whether “but for” the
professional’s negligence, the loss would still have
occurred. A claim will not succeed if the claimant
would have acted in exactly the same way had the
professional not been negligent. For example, if
a claimant purchased a house but subsequently
discovered there was a defect with the property
(which the solicitors should have picked up on) but
there is evidence to suggest this was the Claimant’s
dream home and they were always going to buy it
because it had sentimental value, then they will
struggle to pursue a negligence claim.
The elements of a professional negligence claim
In the 昀椀rst instance, it is necessary to consider the
various elements of a professional negligence claim
and whether these are satis昀椀ed. The relevant test is
set out below:
Loss
If you are able to establish the above, you will
be entitled to damages. Damages are generally
assessed from the date of the breach. The usual
principle is that claimant is put back in the position
they would have been in had the professional not
been negligent. The loss must have been caused as a
direct result of the negligence and it must have been
reasonably foreseeable.
Duty of Care
As a starting point, to bring a claim the client must
prove that they were owed a duty of care by the
professional involved. The duty is usually evidenced
by the written retainer/engagement letter between
the professional and client but in the absence of a
written retainer it may be implied by the parties’
conduct. In the case of a solicitor, it is well established
that a solicitor owes their clients a duty of care.
It may be obvious that a loss has been su昀昀ered in some
cases for example a clear amount can be calculated
if a tax penalty is levied, but in other cases it may be
more complicated, and could, for example, involve
valuing a loss of opportunity (i.e. had I not received
bad 昀椀nancial advice I would have invested my money
elsewhere) or a loss of chance or even the loss of a
job or reputation which is harder to evaluate.
Breach of Duty
Once a duty of care is established, it must then be
shown that the professional breached their duty of
care, by demonstrating that the services provided
fell below the standards of a reasonably competent
professional specialising in their area of expertise.
Sometimes this requires expert evidence, for
example if a valuer has allegedly misstated the
value of a property, then a valuation expert would
be required to assist with this. At other times, the
alleged negligence may be more obvious. Using
the example of Ms Rayner, if her advisers had not
properly taken account of stamp duty provisions
relating to a conveyancing transaction, then there
may have been a breach of duty. The standard is what
a reasonably competent professional specialising in
their area of expertise would advise in that situation
considering the instructions they received.
EXPERT WITNESS JOURNAL
Steps to take if negligence suspected
With the above general negligence framework
in mind, there are various steps to take if adviser
negligence is suspected. This applies whether you
are the claimant or if you are an IFA advising a new
client and from a review of their 昀椀les/instructions
it becomes clear a problem may have arisen with
previous advice.
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OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2025
