Cases - Predeth v Castle Phillips Finance Co Ltd

Record details

Name

Predeth v Castle Phillips Finance Co Ltd

Date

[1986]

Citation

2 EGLR 144, CA

Keywords

Negligence in valuations and surveys

Summary

The defendant finance company, having repossessed a bungalow when the borrower defaulted in his mortgage repayments, asked a local surveyor for a 'crash sale valuation' of the property. The lender then resold the property at slightly more than the figure provided by the valuer but was subsequently held liable to the claimant borrower for failing to obtain the best available price. The lender then sued the valuer for negligence in failing to advise it as to the true market value of the property.

This claim was rejected by the Court of Appeal, on the ground that the valuer had provided exactly what the lender had asked for, namely an indication of what the property might fetch if sold under extreme forced-sale conditions.