Hamlin v Edwin Evans [1997] 80 BLR 85
Citation:Hamlin v Edwin Evans [1997] 80 BLR 85
Rule of thumb:If a surveyor makes one mistake in a report, can you sue them for this? The key aspect is whether it affects the valuation of the property – a surveyor can be very unlucky that one mistake in an otherwise excellent report can be negligent and cost a lot of money.
Judgment:
Surveyors are supposed to provide clients with a report that fairly accurately values a property. The report is the main thing to be assessed in considering negligence against a surveyor - essentially, where parts are lines of this report can be shown to be inaccurate then this is the basis for a potential action to be raised against a surveyor. Caution does have to be exercised to ensure that if a surveyor admits liability due to an error in a report and agrees a settlement – with the standard exoneration of liability clause included - that all potential errors in the report are not exonerated, ‘… The present case is to be contrasted with cases involving claims against those with responsibility for defective building work, where there may well be different causes of action against different contractors and in respect of different categories of damage to the same building (as in Steamship Mutual Underwriting Association Ltd v Trollope & Colls (City) Ltd (1986) 33 BLR 77). Here there is but one single and indivisible cause of action arising out of one negligent act, the making of a single report’, Waite LJ
Warning: This is not professional legal advice. This is not professional legal education advice. Please obtain professional guidance before embarking on any legal course of action. This is just an interpretation of a Judgment by persons of legal insight & varying levels of legal specialism, experience & expertise. Please read the Judgment yourself and form your own interpretation of it with professional assistance.