The claimants sued a firm of solicitors for breach of contract who were alleged to have negligently failed to advise the claimant and her spouse that the property they were to purchase was subject to a restrictive covenant, the claimant alleged loss, claiming damages for the difference between the value of the property free of covenant and the price and the loss of opportunity to develop the property £79,000.
At mediation, as is always the case further issues were discovered which are not always necessarily pleaded. The claimant was in two minds about developing the property and in essence had not really lost anything per se, regardless as their solicitor contended the defendants should have picked up on the restrictive covenant issue.
A deal had to be done, but not at any price as the managing partner for the defendants said, in the spirit of mediation and to prevent any adverse publicity should the matter go to trial the defendants offered £25,000, eventually the parties settled for £40,000.
