The House of Lords has agreed to hear an appeal to determine the extent of a solicitor’s obligation to reveal to clients information obtained as a result of that solicitor having previously acted for one of the parties.
The Lords granted an application for permission to challenge an Appeal Court decision in which the court took the view that a solicitor’s duty to disclose information was dependent upon the nature and terms of his retainer.
The case raises important questions about confidentiality. It considers whether a solicitor, who is acting for two clients, and who has gained non-confidential information on one of them, is under a duty to disclose that information to the other client if it is relevant to the transaction in question.
In the decision now under challenge, the Appeal Court rejected an appeal by property developer Ian Hilton to the High Court’s dismissal of his claim against Blackpool solicitor Barker Booth & Eastwood (BBE) for damages for professional negligence.
The case concerned advice provided by BBE in respect of the proposed sale of six flats to Neil Bromage for £351,000.
Hilton claimed that BBE, which had acted for both Hilton and Bromage, should have informed him that, among other things, Bromage had no financial substance, had been in prison and had been bankrupt.
Hilton v Barker Booth & Eastwood
References: PLS News 28/3/03
