Cases - Smith v Carter

Record details

Name

Smith v Carter

Date

[1994]

Citation

SCLR 538

Keywords

Negligence in valuations and surveys

Summary

A residential mortgage valuer instructed by the lender will normally owe a duty of care to the purchaser of a house or flat who relies on the mortgage valuation report when deciding to purchase. It was held in this case that, where the property is purchased jointly (as for example by a married couple), the valuer will owe the same duty of care to both purchasers, even though he or she may have been completely unaware that there was to be more than one purchaser. This is because such arrangements are common in the housing market and the valuer can therefore reasonably be expected to foresee them.