Solicitors doubles negligence claims

Law firm Eversheds is facing a new claim of professional negligence, after already being sued for £20 million for the same reason by Nationwide Building Society over mortgage fraud.

The latest case involves Michael Scarlett and Richard Smith, who are suing Eversheds over its advice on the name of a new company

Eversheds advised the pair that there was only a "slight risk" that Consignia would sue a company they invested in using the name 'Pallet Force', which has a marked similarity to 'Parcel Force', of which Consignia is a parent company.

The solicitors added that if a claim was made it would be "unlikely" to succeed.

However, in 2001 Consignia did challenge the trademark, and Mr Scarlett and Mr Smith were forced to sell their shares in the company at a loss of £857,400.

They had to make this move after facing substantial court costs with only a 50 per cent chance of success in the patent.

The businessmen are now hoping to reclaim their losses from Eversheds, suggesting that their advice was inadequate.

Eversheds is currently being sued by Nationwide in one of the biggest professional negligence cases ever seen in Britain and Northern Ireland.



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