Events


4 New Square Professional Liability Update: 2020 year in review (Monday, 11th January 2021)


Click here for link to 4 New Square Professional Liability Update: 2020 year in review

by Helen Evans, Ben SmileyPippa Manby and Ian McDonald

Overview

The core issues considered in the most important professional negligence cases of 2020 cover five main themes, as follows:

  • The practical consequences of the broad policy-based test laid down in recent years to determine when a claimant’s claim is “tainted” by his wrongdoing;
  • When it is an abuse of process to attack the outcome of previous proceedings in a subsequent claim;
  • Challenges posed by the separate legal personalities of a company and its shareholders, creditors or other associates;
  • The need for more certainty in the area of vicarious liability; and
  • The extent to which the filtering mechanism based on scope of duty can cut down damages in a claim framed in breach of fiduciary duty rather than negligence.

In this review of the year, Helen EvansBen SmileyPippa Manby, and Ian McDonald of 4 New Square explain what the 2020 cases tell us, how the various strands of development interact, and what to watch out for as we go into 2021.

 

Back to News