Cases - Ward v McMaster

Record details

Name

Ward v McMaster

Date

[1985]

Citation

IR 29

Keywords

Negligence in valuations and surveys

Summary

There can be no vicarious liability in tort for the negligence of an independent valuer (that is, one who is not an employee, director or partner of the firm concerned). However, it was pointed out in this Irish case that, where a mortgage lender commissions a valuation from an independent valuer, the lender itself owes a duty of care to the purchaser to select a valuer who is competent to perform the task. It was accordingly held that a local authority lender that instructed a local auctioneer (who had no professional qualifications relating to house construction) to carry out a mortgage valuation was liable to the purchaser for losses resulting from the auctioneer's incompetence in failing to discover and report on serious defects in the property.