Cases - Pfeiffer v E & E Installations

Record details

Name

Pfeiffer v E & E Installations

Date

[1991]

Citation

1 EGLR 162, CA

Keywords

Negligence in valuations and surveys

Summary

The defendants, a specialist firm, were instructed by the claimant house purchasers to inspect and test the property's gas-fired central heating system, which was at the end of its normal life expectancy. The defendants reported that the system was functioning satisfactorily but, soon after the claimants moved in, problems arose that were ultimately traced to cracks in the heat exchanger. It appeared that these cracks had been present at the time of the defendants' inspection and, in contrast with the previous case, the Court of Appeal held that the defendants were negligent in not using a torch and mirror to check for possible cracks (which, had they done so, they would have found).