Cases - Beresforde v Chesterfield BC
Record details
- Name
- Beresforde v Chesterfield BC
- Date
- [1989]
- Citation
- 2 EGLR 149, CA
- Legislation
- Keywords
- Negligence in valuations and surveys
- Summary
-
A building society, having commissioned a mortgage valuation from an independent valuer, showed the valuer's report to the claimant house purchaser, who relied on it in deciding to go ahead with the purchase. The report appeared on the building society's own headed paper and contained a number of references to 'the Society's valuer'. When the claimant sued the building society for the valuer's negligence, arguing that they had effectively 'adopted' the report and presented it as their own, the society applied to have this claim struck out as disclosing no cause of action. The Court of Appeal, while emphasising that the claimants faced 'formidable difficulties' in making the building society liable for the valuer's negligence, nevertheless held that the claim was an arguable one and should accordingly not be struck out at this preliminary stage.