Professional Liability and Property Transactions

Table of Contents:
Introduction Professionalism General Liability Sources of professional liability Limitation of professional liability Remedial Aspects of Professional Liability Remedies for breach of professional obligations Procedural issues Professionals Involved in Property Transactions Solicitors Real estate agents Valuers Accountants Construction professionals Professionals Associated with Property Transactions Lenders Local authorities Table of cases/ Table of statutes/ Index

Review :
Christensen and Duncan review in a comprehensive way the sources of professional liability, limitations and remedies. … the core of the book lies in its separate chapters describing liability for the different relevant professional groups -- solicitors, real estate agents, valuers, accountants, construction professionals, lenders and local authorities. These chapters continue the concise yet thorough approach, incorporating many case examples. … No doubt the book will provide a valuable academic and student reference, and be of great value in the property transaction field, particularly for advice on legal exposure, risk management and litigation. …it is also useful for those of us who are not practising in these areas but are called upon from time to time to advise on or speak about professional negligence claims generally, and more particularly those arising from property transactions. - Bill Madden, Precedent, No 70, September/October 2005 This is a well-written, informative and highly professional work. - Law Institute Journal (Victoria), September 2005 The authors of this valuable treatise on the liability of professionals have been ambitious in attempting to document the many recent developments in the law in this area and in embarking upon a survey of the obligations of particular professionals whose work has received comparatively little attention in the past. The ambitions of the authors have been realised. The liability of solici­tors, real estate agents, valuers, accountants, construction pro­fessionals, lenders and local authorities has been the subject of comprehensive and separate treatment. This is appropriate. In practice, as opposed to general theory and principle, the risk that these professionals run, and the ways in which liability against them may be established, differ. All relevant aspects of professional obligations are covered as well as the impact of trade practices legislation in its extended application to them. Vexed questions of concurrent and joint liability are fully treated. The authors have taken care to construct this work in a useful and accessible format. From defining professionalism, they move naturally and logically to a discussion of sources of professional liability including the fiduciary duties which arise, in some circumstances, independently of con­tractual and other obligations owed to clients. Readers will find especially helpful the discussion on the measure of damages and on how damages may vary from professional to profes­sional. This discussion takes account of the serious implications for all professionals and their insurers, problems in relation to whom are current and pressing. This book makes a notable contribution to academic writing on a subject in which the community is showing an increasing interest, an interest which is reflected in the ingenuity and number of claims made by professionals on other professionals on behalf of members of an increasingly importunate society. The book is a book for practitioners also. Its arrange­ment and contemporaneity, and the depth of the research under­taken by its authors, will ensure that it will find a place on the shelves of all serious practi­tioners of the professions with which it deals. - The Hon IDF Callinan AC, A Justice of the High Court of Australia, 29 April 2004, (Foreword) Christensen and Duncan have every reason to be proud of a book that tackles one of litigation’s few growth areas … Although the book’s title refers to the liability arising from negligence of professionals in property transactions, the first part of its examination of general issues, such as a professional’s duty of care, causes of action arising from misleading and deceptive conduct, fiduciary duties and, of course, the remedies available to those claiming to have suffered loss, would be useful to anyone dealing with a negligence case. The second part deals specifically with the professions most commonly associated with land deals: solicitors (a group whose negligence has resulted in the largest chapter in the book!), land valuers, local councils, lenders, construction professionals, accountants, and surprisingly to this reviewer at least, real estate agents. Did you know that a real estate agent is under an obligation to make enquiries regarding the purchaser’s ability to complete the contract? Each of the chapters dealing with the specific professional areas sets out that profession’s generally accepted standard of conduct, fiduciary duties and remedies. The book has a straightforward, practical approach that will make it a must for almost anyone practising in the area of professional negligence, especially those who deal in the world of property transactions – and particularly if you are looking for inspiration as to whom to sue! - Troy Anderson, Law Society Journal (NSW) , Nov 2004