Cases - Gibbs v Arnold Son & Hockley

Record details

Name

Gibbs v Arnold Son & Hockley

Date

[1989]

Citation

2 EGLR 154

Keywords

Negligence in valuations and surveys

Summary

The claimants, in deciding to purchase an end of terrace Victorian house, relied on a mortgage valuation report provided by the defendants. They later complained of a number of defects, including cracks in the chimney, which, they alleged, should have been discovered and mentioned in the report. In rejecting this (and all other) allegations of negligence, the judge accepted that, on a mortgage valuation, a surveyor's duty in respect of the roof-space is limited to carrying out a 'head and shoulders' inspection through the roof hatch; on the facts, such an inspection would not have enabled the surveyor to see any cracks in the chimney.